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WHAT PETER AND NANCY SAW IN PALESTINE 











PETER and NANCY 
/«_: ASIA 


BY 

MILDRED HOUGHTON COMFORT 

’1 

Author of Peter and "Nancy in Europe 

Peter and Nancy in South America 

Peter and Nancy in Africa 

BECKLEY-CARDY COMPANY 

CHICAGO 

















Copyright, 1937, by 
BECKLEY-CARDY COMPANY 
All rights reserved 


Printed in the United States of America 

JAN 2.i ibd7 

®ClA 1 0244 8 


- 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


At the Western Gate of Asia.... 9 

Istanbul, Turkey 

The Holy City. 23 

Jerusalem, Palestine 

An Age-Old Town. 35 

Bethlehem, Palestine 

The New and the Old. 43 

From Jerusalem to Petra, Trans-Jordan 

A Town Built Upon a Rock . 51 

Aden, Arabia 

Two Famous Cities. 57 

Mecca, Arabia, and Damascus, Syria 

Two Rivers and a Caravansary. 69 

Iraq and Persia 

Desert Hospitality and a Flying Trip. 84 

Afghanistan and Baluchistan 

A Land of Mystery . 94 

India and Bombay 

Green Tea and White Elephants. 104 

The Island of Ceylon 

A Seaport and a Mountain City. 115 

Madras and Hyderabad, India 

A Delta City. 122 

Calcutta, India 

The Sacred River. 131 

Benares, India 


3 















4 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Cities of the Rajahs.... 141 

Agra and Delhi, India 

The Lama Country. 148 

From Kashmir to Tibet 

Tibetan Highlands and a Hindu Province. 158 

From Lhasa, Tibet, into Bhutan 

The Land of Teak and Rice and Rubies. 167 

Burma 

A City of Golden Spires. 180 

Bangkok, Siam 

An Eastern Seaport. 191 

Singapore, Malay Peninsula 

The Pearl of the Orient. 201 

Indo-China 

The Long Coast of China. 209 

Hong Kong, Canton, and Shanghai 

Chinese Farms and Rice Fields. 221 

The Interior of China 

From Peiping North. 230 

Mongolia and Siberia 

The Land of Morning Calm. 244 

From Manchukuo to Chosen 

Wings, Mountains, and Flowers. 255 

Japan 

The Land of the Rising Sun. 265 

The Japanese Empire 

Farewell to the East. 275 

Tokyo, Japan 

















LIST OF 

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

What Peter and Nancy saw in Palestine.... Frontispiece 

A narrow, ancient street in Istanbul. 13 

Everything from camels to cars. 25 

El-Hazne, beautifully carved out of the cliff. 50 

A Bedouin Sheik. 59 

Selling watermellons in Iraq. 71 

The courtyard of the caravansary. 73 

The famous peacock throne now in the royal 

palace in Teheran. 81 

Caravan and automobile travel in the hills 
of Afghanistan. 89 

Picking coconuts. 113 

Extracting latex to make rubber. 198 

The Mongols were tall, with copper-colored 
faces and high cheekbones. 239 


5 





















































. 


















. 




























































































TO ALL YOUNG GEOGRAPHERS! 


P ETER and Nancy hope that you have ceased 
to be mere students of geography. They 
hope you have become geographers like them¬ 
selves. For a long time they have looked for¬ 
ward to a trip through the oldest continent on 
the globe. They want to see for themselves the 
land that gave them their religious belief. They 
want to meet the people of the Far East and to 
see them at home. From Istanbul at the west¬ 
ern gate of Asia to Japan at the eastern gate 
is a long distance. From the Malay Peninsula 
at the southern gate to the white Siberian door 
at the north of Asia is another long distance. 
But Peter and Nancy are determined to see the 
interesting things that make this continent so 
different from their own. 

If you accompany them on this journey, they 
hope you will thrill to desert and mountain and 
sea, to torrid summer jungle as well as snowy 
winter cold, and that you will like the yellow 
people and the brown just as they expect to do. 

Peter says, “After you’ve visited Asia, you 
never forget the smell of it or the sound of it, I’ve 
heard. It’s different; that’s all.” 

Nancy says, “After you’ve visited Asia, you 
enjoy your sugar and spice and everything nice 
more than you ever did before.” 


7 


8 


TO ALL YOUNG GEOGRAPHERS! 


Uncle Lee says, like a wise old Asiatic, “Geog¬ 
raphy is not merely topography. It’s a mixture 
of peoples and customs, their work and their 
play, long ago and now. It’s a very broad sub¬ 
ject.^ 

Peter and Nancy together declare, “Well, see¬ 
ing Asia is going to be a very broad trip. Please 
come with us.” 


The Author 



PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


AT THE WESTERN GATE OF ASIA 

“rpHE biggest, the oldest, the most astounding 
-L continent in existence!” Uncle Lee MacLaren 
in his hotel suite in Istanbul, passed his hand 
over the map that lay on the table between him 
and his fellow travelers, his nephew and niece, 
Peter and Nancy MacLaren. 

“Asia!” Peter’s blue eyes in his sun-tanned 
face glowed with the love of adventure that 
had grown to be a part of his very being. He 
rumpled his mop of light curls as he said, “To¬ 
morrow morning we’ll actually set foot in Asia.” 

“We’re at the gate now, the western gate.” 
Nancy’s gray eyes were raised to her uncle’s. 
She looked much more grown-up than she had 
the year before in Africa. “It’s going to be a 
long, wonderful trip. To think that Asia is twice 
the size of North America! To think it extends 
so far south that the North Star can’t be seen 
and so far north that a traveler is in the land 
of the Midnight Sun!” 

“And so far east,” Peter continued, “that it 
will take us a good year to get there. At least 
I hope it does.” He sang, “ ‘Oh, I’ll climb the 
highest mountain,’ and when I say the highest, 


9 



10 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


I mean the highest. Of course I don’t mean I’ll 
really climb it, for no one has yet. In case you 
don’t know, I’m speaking of Mt. Everest in the 
Himalayas.” 

“The highest and the lowest land in the world,” 
Nancy put in. “Didn’t you say, Uncle Lee, that 
the land around the Dead Sea in Palestine was 
lower than any other land in the world? If we 
go swimming in the Dead Sea, Peter, we’ll bob 
around like corks. It’s saltier than Salt Lake 
in Utah.” 

“In Asia we can indulge in superlatives to our 
heart’s content. Parts of Siberia are colder in 
January than the North Pole, and I believe that 
the Sind Desert in India is the hottest place on 
earth in July. The wettest place is in the Himal¬ 
ayas with 500 inches of rainfall some years. You 
youngsters will see the most crowded places on 
the globe and the most forlornly deserted... You 
two go to bed, or I’ll talk all night. Where’s 
that Turkish boy? You can know by the people 
you’ve seen on the streets of Istanbul what you’ll 
meet in Asia. There will be white, black, yellow, 
and brown, and they’ll all have something worth 
while to give you. Good-night.” 

Less than a month before, the three Mac- 
Larens had said good-by to the Minnesota farm 
on which Peter and Nancy lived. The trip to New 
York by train, an adventure in itself, had been 
followed by a delightful transatlantic voyage, 
ending at Gibraltar. To sail the blue Mediter- 



AT THE WESTERN GATE OF ASIA 


11 


ranean from one end to the other was vastly 
more thrilling—at least in prospect. 

As a matter of fact, it had proved to be a 
rather stormy voyage, especially in the Aegean 
Sea. The MacLarens were glad to pass through 
the Dardanelles into the safety of the calm Bos¬ 
porus. Now in a comfortable hotel in Istanbul 
they could look eastward in happy anticipation. 
They had come many miles, but they felt that 
they were only at the beginning of their jour¬ 
ney, for they had come to see Asia. Uncle Lee 
was to write impressions of the countries they 
visited. 

Next morning Peter and Nancy and Uncle 
Lee met in the hotel dining room to gaze off at 
the shores of Asia. A gentle rain was falling, 
and the shore line was indistinct. By noon the 
air was clear and brisk, and the happy trio de¬ 
cided to visit the Turkish quarter of the city. 

“Where Europe and Asia meet!” Uncle Lee 
strode down through the narrow, winding, an¬ 
cient street, Peter taking long steps beside him, 
Nancy running to keep up. Donkeys heavily- 
laden crowded past them. Merchants seated in 
their sidewalk booths bargained loudly with cus¬ 
tomers, while people in both eastern and western 
garb swarmed along on foot. 

“When I went to school,” Uncle Lee said, “they 
called this city Constantinople. It used to be 
quite a job to spell it. We learned a song about 
it. Istanbul is much shorter if not so simple.” 



12 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


The three came out on a wider, busier street. 
They were breathlessly eager for they had been 
planning a boat trip. The air was cold, whip¬ 
ping in from the Bosporus, but the domes and 
minarets of the city sparkled under the sun’s 
rays. 

“Galata Bridge,” said Uncle Lee, “is Istan¬ 
bul’s Grand Central. You may catch a steamer 
seventy times a day. The mist is lifting. We’re 
in sight of Asia right now.” 

“At the gateway!” Peter’s blue eyes strained 
toward the opposite shore. “If the Bosporus froze 
over, I could walk to Asia in a few hours. Good 
old Bosporus!” 

“Good old Istanbul!” Nancy kept looking back 
over her shoulder as Uncle Lee and Peter slowed 
their gait. “Just think, we’re in the only country 
that is both in Europe and Asia, except Russia. 
Until after the World War Istanbul was the 
capital of Turkey, wasn’t it, Uncle Lee? I 
believe you said that Angora in Asia Minor is 
the present capital. I’m sure it isn’t nearly so 
glamorous.” 

“What’s glamorous about this city?” Peter in¬ 
quired. “I suppose you like those narrow, smelly 
little streets in the Turkish Quarter. Of course 
the oriental buildings with their domes and min¬ 
arets are handsome, and the name for the harbor, 
the Golden Horn, sounds wonderful. I never 
saw such a bunch of ferry boats. They call 
them caiques . You have to take a ferry even to 




Ewing Galloway 

A NARROW, ANCIENT STREET IN ISTANBUL 








14 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

GALATA BRIDGE 

reach a Turkish railway and when a railway 
train does come in, it has to be ferried across. 
Ferries in Istanbul are as important as gondolas 
in Venice.” 

Nearing the bridge the MacLarens found 
themselves jostled by Moslems, Hebrews, and 
Christians alike. Ahead the motley crowd scram¬ 
bled for tickets. Some paused to buy ringtoss 
loaves sprinkled with sesame seed. Others pur¬ 
chased hazelnuts and raisins. A number bought 
bottles of raki. 

“Like ginger ale?” Peter inquired, hoping 
Uncle Lee would make a purchase. 





AT THE WESTERN GATE OF ASIA 


15 


“Not exactly/’ Uncle Lee responded dryly. 

He hurried Peter and Nancy aboard the Men¬ 
dicant Monk , with its thousands or more pas¬ 
sengers, and managed to find seats on one of the 
long benches. As they sat there in the winter 
sunshine, he began to talk whimsically as he so 
often had on their long pilgrimages. 

“Times have changed in Turkey,” he observed. 
“I think their clocks must have ticked along even 
faster than ours. When our own Commodore 
William Bainbridge first carried the American 
flag up the Bosporus to the Black Sea in 1801, he 
served fresh water from four continents to his 
Moslem guests.” 

Picking up a newspaper that a dark-skinned 
youth in European clothes had left on the bench, 
Uncle Lee continued. 

“Here’s your modern Turkish newspaper. 
The news formerly was done in beautiful Persian 
script understood only by the highly educated. 
Now it is put down in a modern Latin alpha¬ 
bet much like ours. So many words have been 
changed that everybody must learn the new 
printed language. There are changes in custom, 
too. The time will come when there will be no 
more double veils for women or fezzes for men, 
here in the Balkans. As a matter of fact, the 
law requires people to wear hats, even though 
touching the floor with the brim in prayer is not 
exactly easy.” 

“The Balkans!” Nancy caught at the strange 





16 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


word. “Are those the Balkan Mountains over 
there in the distance? Didn't you tell me once, 
Uncle Lee, that the Balkans shut out the cold 
north winds and make the part of Turkey that's 
in Europe warm?" 

“It's not too warm today." Peter shivered. 
“But it has to be somewhat warm to grow tobacco 
and raise silk worms, and there must be rose 
gardens for the manufacture of attar of roses." 

“Right you are, Peter, and right you are, too, 
Nancy," Uncle Lee put in. “This is to be our 
farewell to Europe here at Istanbul. If I were 
poetic I'd say, ‘Here West meets East,' or vice 
versa." 

“Vice versa isn't poetical," Nancy replied. “I 
heard a really good way of saying it. ‘Turkey 
sits astride the straits.' I can almost see a big 
Turk in silken pantaloons and richly embroidered 
jacket with his fez set squarely on his black head 
smiling at us all." 

“Explain yourself geographically," Uncle Lee 
challenged. 

“I will," Nancy agreed. “The overland travel 
between Europe and southwestern Asia crosses 
the narrow waterway of the Bosporus, connect¬ 
ing the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. The 
Bosporus causes a break in the overland route, 
but it's a pleasant break." 

The boat had glided smoothly away from the 
noisy pier, and soon it was fighting wind and 
current. 



AT THE WESTERN GATE OF ASIA 


17 


“That’s the Palace of the Filled-in Garden,” 
Uncle Lee said, pointing toward an elaborate 
building with long facades and countless lace¬ 
like carvings. 

As the boat moved along, he pointed out other 
palaces on shore, some in duplicate because a 
Turk had to treat two wives or two daughters 
exactly alike. Peter was interested in the Palace 
of the Star where a deposed ruler once lived. 
Nancy was enchanted with a lovely jewel of a 
mosque clearly reflected in the water. 

“The current’s very strong here,” Uncle Lee 
remarked. “It is said that the Bosporus is ‘in 
flow a river and in depth a sea.’ Be that as it 
may, our boatman is having a hard time. But 
it’s picturesque as we go along, with these lovely 
little villages, old castles, ruins, and trees of 
many kinds.” 

“I once read,” said Peter, “that men prayed 
for safety ( in the Black Sea, but gave thanks 
when once they were in the Bosporus. But it’s 
pretty rough today.” 

Back in their modern hotel in Istanbul once 
more, the MacLarens viewed the sparkling city 
by night. They were never to forget that it was 
a stronghold of the Mohammedan religion, for 
the numerous mosques with tall slender towers 
testified that many adored Allah. A city of almost 
700,000 souls, with countless boats at its front 
door, it was first and last a port. Snowdrifts 
might delay trains and trams and cabs, but 



18 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Publishers’ Photo Service 


THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN ACHMED 

only Black Sea ice could interfere with the busi¬ 
ness of the city. The small boats with their 
passengers and their products of fine Turkish 
tobacco, good quality raw cotton, and beauti¬ 
fully woven rugs, represented the business of a 
progressive, modern country. 

“We’re on the west side of the Bosporus, aren’t 
we?” Peter was busy with his pocket compass. 
“Across from us lies Asia Minor. Little Asia!” 

And so it was. 

“Tomorrow morning you’ll see it at first hand,” 
Uncle Lee promised. “Our train will be ferried 
across the Bosporus.” 

“We saw Turkey in Europe,” Peter remarked, 
“but now we shall see Turkey in Asia, too.” 

Later, on the way to Palestine, the MacLarens 
looked out of the train window at the bleak, 









AT THE WESTERN GATE OF ASIA 


19 


wind-swept Anatolian plateau. The children had 
been prepared by Uncle Lee for what they found 
—simple little farms, crudely managed. 

It had taken eleven years of warfare to estab¬ 
lish the republic, and the Turkish soldiers who 
survived the wars and went back to farms found 
themselves facing serious problems. There was 
no money for machinery and it was hard to pro¬ 
cure farm animals and seed. 

“But the Turks are a hardy race,” Uncle Lee 
remarked. “These soldiers went back to their 
land with their women folks and threshed their 
grain in primitive fashion, rolling it out under a 
heavy log set with sharp stones. Even today 
many of these peasant women make flour by 
grinding the grain between heavy, flat stones. 
In spite of the new agricultural schools and the 
introduction of farm machinery, the peasants are 
doing most of their work by hand.” 

“Smyrna figs are the best known in the world 
markets,” Nancy volunteered. “I read that in 
my geography.” 

“Rugs and mohair upholstery!” Peter indi¬ 
cated a flock of sheep high up near some old 
broken walls and a number of long-haired goats 
near the roadway. 

“Right you are!” Uncle Lee agreed. “It is 
estimated that there are about 12,000,000 sheep 
in Turkey and nearly as many goats. The coarse 
wool of these sheep is used in carpet manufac¬ 
ture. The hair of the goats, as you have noted, 



20 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

A TURKISH BOY TENDING HIS SHEEP AND GOATS 

Peter, is made into mohair. A good many of the 
goats are of the Angora variety.” 

“Angora!” Nancy caught the name, though her 
eyes were on a young Turk plowing with what 
looked like a stick. “That’s the name of the new 
Turkish capital, isn’t it? I can remember it 
because one just naturally associates the name 
Angora with goats.” 

“Or cats!” Peter added. 

“Call the capital Ankara!” Uncle Lee begged. 
“That’s what the Turks call it. It’s the name for 
anchor, a strange mark to give the city’s ancient 



AT THE WESTERN GATE OF ASIA 


21 


coins, considering that the city was built inland. 
It shows how important sea trade was to them. 
Look at those peasants ahead, with their baggy 
trousers and embroidered jackets, and the pretty 
colorful headdresses of those women. The long 
embroidered gowns are probably heirlooms. You 
notice that these women in the country do not 
wear veils, although their religion is closely 
related to Mohammedanism. Necklaces of coins, 
such as that young woman wears, are common.” 

Two handsome peasant women and their es¬ 
corts stepped out of the road. Peter and Nancy 
had but a glimpse of their strong, bronzed fea¬ 
tures and gleaming black eyes as the train went 

by. 

“We’ll take time to visit Ankara,” Uncle Lee 
said as he reached for the baggage. 

Between the railway station and the city lay 
a sports field. Uncle Lee said it had once been 
a malarial swamp. Now Peter and Nancy saw 
it filled with men and women as fashionably 
dressed as the men and women of Paris, or 
Vienna, or London. Silky, Arabian riding horses 
pranced in the cheery sunlight, and modern auto¬ 
mobiles purred up to parking spaces. Not even 
a fez was in evidence. 

Peter enjoyed watching the traffic policemen 
with their red helmets and arm bands. He found 
them a strange contrast to the native peasants. 
A stranger contrast still was the modern auto¬ 
mobile and the crude peasant cart with its solid 



22 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


wooden wheels, drawn by sturdy, solemn water 
buffaloes. Many of the peasants resented the 
cars and gesticulated angrily. 

Near the museum the MacLarens stared long 
at the statue of the first president of the Repub¬ 
lic, Mustafa Kemal. He sat astride a splendid 
horse as he scanned the West. 

The gray stone building of the Turkish Na¬ 
tional Assembly looked modern with its decora¬ 
tive inlays of pale and lovely rose, and its sym¬ 
bolic star above the entrance. 

“It houses a single-chamber legislature,” Un¬ 
cle Lee declared. “Any young Turk over eighteen 
is eligible.” 

“Turkey is modern,” Nancy declared. “Even 
the women vote, and I haven’t seen a veil except 
in the country.” 



THE HOLY CITY 


T HE tram was crowded all through Asia 
Minor. Winter rains splashed against the win¬ 
dows. It did not seem like Christmas weather, 
and yet the MacLarens were on their way to 
the Holy Land, expecting to arrive in time for 
Christmas. 

Peter and Nancy half expected to be set down 
in Jerusalem by angels with beautiful white 
wings and to hear the soft strumming of golden 
harps. Instead they arrived on a very ordinary 
train from Ankara and heard in the station 
the honk of motor horns. That glamorous name 
they had heard ever since they could remember 
was printed in three languages on the station. 
One might take his choice: English, Arabic, or 
Hebrew. 

“How would you like to enter Jerusalem?” 
Uncle Lee, busy with the bags, put the question 
mischievously. “Look these conveyances over. 
Those horse-drawn carriages out there are 
known as gharries. Or, if you wish, you may 
ride on one of those saddle donkeys or a camel. 
I would suggest an American automobile as 
being the most convenient. We'll ride down the 
Bethlehem road to the old city of Jerusalem.” 

“Did you ever see so many blue beads?” Nancy 
asked Peter. “There's a necklace of blue beads 


23 


24 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


around that horse’s neck. Blue beads around 
the donkey’s neck too. Even the camel is dec¬ 
orated with them.” 

“And there are blue beads around the steering 
wheel,” Peter exclaimed. “Why, I wonder?” 

“To appease any evil spirits that may be 
about,” Uncle Lee put in. “You’ll see plenty 
of blue beads while in Palestine.” 

On their right as they drove along in the clear 
sunshine, the MacLarens viewed a hospital and 
above it the colorful flag of the Venerable Order 
of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. Un¬ 
cle Lee told the children how, over 800 years 
ago, noble knights and sometimes fair ladies 
came from all over Europe to take the Holy Land 
from the Saracens. He made the Crusades live 
again for Peter and Nancy. The holy wars 
which had been carried on by Christians to wrest 
the sacred land from the heathen seemed very 
real. It was under this flag, he explained, that 
the knights had fought. 

“This spot has an interesting history,” Uncle 
Lee said, “but the good deeds accomplished are 
not all in the past. Today the Order maintains 
a fine eye hospital. Treatment for eye disorders 
is very important in this country... There’s your 
first glimpse of the walls. Look ahead. You can 
see that Jerusalem is a walled city, but I can tell 
you that it climbs the hills above the walls and 
spreads out of its gates along all the roads 
leading from the city.” 




Acme 


EVERYTHING FROM CAMELS TO CARS 


26 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE GREAT JERUSALEM WALL 


“I expected Jerusalem to look golden. Instead 
it looks gray/’ Nancy observed. 

“Gray hills, gray walls, gray buildings! It 
does look gray,” Peter agreed. “Even the olive 
trees and the junipers are gray-green.” 

On down the road rattled the car, with its 
driver keenly alert to point out matters of in¬ 
terest. Past the Sultan’s Pool jolted the car, 
and then both Peter and Nancy exclaimed ex¬ 
citedly, for straight before them rose an imposing 
fortress of gray stone. The mighty blocks at 
the base dated from Roman times, Uncle Lee 
thought, but the five tall towers had been built 
in the fourteenth century. 



THE HOLY CITY 


27 


Through a breach in the wall the car entered 
what Uncle Lee called the old city. 

“A market place!” shouted Peter. “Oh, let’s 
stop, Uncle Lee.” 

“All right,” answered Uncle Lee, as they all 
clambered out of the car. Then to the chauffeur 
he added, “Take the bags to the hotel. We will 
register later.” 

Peter and Nancy were enchanted. Here was 
a picture such as they had viewed in grand¬ 
mother’s big family Bible. These women ven¬ 
ders who had come in from their villages at 
sunrise wore gowns of dark blues and reds, and 
from their handsome, bronzed faces fluttered long 
embroidered white veils. Many a woman carried 
a baby upon her back, a contented plump little 
baby with dark skin and darker eyes. 

Peter and Nancy looked solemn. The names 
of the Biblical towns sounded strangely in their 
ears when Uncle Lee mentioned them so glibly. 

“Bananas from Jericho!” he cried. “Oranges 
over there from Jaffa, and grapes from Hebron! 
These apricots came from Bethlehem, and the 
watermelons were brought up from the coast 
near Caesarea. The soil there is peculiarly suited 
to melons.” 

“Good thing we like cauliflower, Nancy,” 
Peter said. “I never saw bigger and better ones 
even at our State Fair back home.” 

“Those cauliflowers,” Uncle Lee declared, “are 
the finest grown in the world. They come from 



28 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


the Valley of Silwan. See that woman over there 
with the great basket of cauliflowers on her head? 
She’s setting them down near the eggs. Makes 
me hungry. How’d you like a second breakfast 
in one of the stalls?” 

Peter was fascinated as he watched the Arabs 
purchase small flat loaves of bread that looked 
more like stale waffles than anything else. An 
old Arab wrapped up a few olives and some 
cheese in a loaf, almost as though it were a 
piece of paper. Another used his loaf to dip up 
the curdled milk from a bowl he held in his 
hands. Peter and Nancy found the bread not 
unpalatable, and they enjoyed eggs that had been 
roasted in the embers of small fires. The bits of 
meat fried on skewers were delicious, and Uncle 
Lee, seated on a low stool, declared that his black 
coffee was delicious. 

Leaving the stall Peter stopped to watch a pub¬ 
lic letter writer. This person is much in demand 
in a land where many people cannot read or 
write. 

“The Jaffa Gate,” Uncle Lee declared, “used 
to be closed at sunset. But I hardly think we’ll 
pass through it. If we turn north now we’ll 
be in the shopping district. Want your shoes 
shined at the gate before we go on?” 

“Mine are good enough,” Peter said as he 
kicked at the cobblestones. 

“I’d like to have my shoes shined,” Nancy 
spoke up. “Those little Arab boys over there 



THE HOLY CITY 


29 



Ewing Galloway 

A PUBLIC LETTER WRITER AT WORK 
ON THE STREET 


look as though they would welcome customers.” 

A few minutes later Nancy was standing with 
one foot on a little box decorated with pierced 
brass and with paper roses. After her right 
shoe had been polished, a bell rang. 

“That means you are to take one foot down 
and put the other up,” Peter guessed. 

Nancy took the hint laughing. She said, “When 
I get back home Pm going to tell everybody in 
school that in Jerusalem the bootblack sits and 
the customer stands, and that you change feet 
by bells.” 

Everybody, it seemed, walked in the middle 
of the street; Jewish porters with heavy loads, 
Moslems wearing the tarboosh or fez with Western 





30 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


clothing, Christian women in strange headdresses 
and intricately embroidered costumes. Then there 
were flocks of sheep, numberless goats, carts 
drawn by horses, and camels heavily laden. 

There was every type of store from the old- 
world open stall to the modern Parisian shop. 
Uncle Lee said that the most famous shopping 
street was called the Occident and that it was 
outside the western wall. 

Uncle Lee was much impressed with the new 
municipal water system, although he insisted 
that he would miss the picturesque sight of 
women waiting at the age-old wells with earthen¬ 
ware jars gracefully poised on shoulder or hip. 

“We must drive to Damascus Gate,” said 
Uncle Lee at lunch. “There you will find the 
famous grain market where wheat and barley 
are sold and where all bargains are made by 
word of mouth. Then from the top of the hill 
I want to show you the shepherds leading their 
sheep in from the pastures. This afternoon we 
shall enter the Walled City. You’ll see the Jaffa 
Gate. We’ll go down David Street on foot.” 

Peter and Nancy would not have called this 
thoroughfare a street. It was just one long, 
shallow flight of cobblestone steps after another. 
The steps were worn and rather slippery, and to 
Peter and Nancy it was like being in a street in 
a book except that the stones were so uneven that 
they had to watch their steps carefully. A Mos¬ 
lem woman in black, with flowered muslin over 



THE HOLY CITY 


31 



Publishers’ Photo Service 


AN AGE-OLD WELL IN THE HOLY LAND 

her face, a Hebrew woman with a kerchief tied 
over her head, her arms clinking with jewelry, 
and a native man in a tall cap with coat of velvet 
and long side curls, all passed close at hand within 
a few minutes, while small children clattered 
down from step to step. 

Later, Peter and Nancy were to find that 
nearly all the shopping streets, except David and 
Christian Streets, were arched over. Many of 
the old residential streets were very narrow and 
the houses so old that they sagged together at the 
top. Some shops carried all manner of produce. 



32 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Others dealt in one particular product. There 
was, for example, the merchant who made it 
his special business to press tarbooshes, there 
was the merchant who worked in silver and 
brass, and the merchant who sold rich silken 
robes. At a sweet shop, Peter and Nancy bought 
baklawis, diamond-shaped pastries filled with nut 
meats and fig paste. Leaving the sweet shop, 
the children peeked into an alley where a camel 
was grinding sesame for the oil. But it was in 
the camel-fitting arcade that Peter and Nancy 
actually smelled the fragrance of the East. 
Here were spices piled high for shipment. And 
here, in an old coffee shop in the form of a Mal¬ 
tese Cross, Uncle Lee again enjoyed some coffee. 

It was in the Temple area, however, that Peter 
and Nancy felt as though they had stepped back 
to the time of Christ. Here, where The Dome of 
the Rock now stood, many a temple had been built 
and demolished. Here was the site, it is believed 
by many, where Abraham was told to bring his 
son to Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. 
This, also, was the rock on which David hoped 
to build his temple. The great courtyard sur¬ 
rounding the temple was as impressive as the 
temple itself. 

On Friday afternoon Peter and Nancy, stroll¬ 
ing with Uncle Lee, passed near the foot of the 
old temple where the Jews gathered to conduct 
their ceremonies at this famous Wailing Place. 
It was on Friday, also, that they beheld a Chris- 



THE HOLY CITY 


33 



THE MOUNT OF OLIVES 

tian pilgrimage led by Franciscan Friars. The 
pilgrimage started near the Praetorium where 
Pontius Pilate once ruled and where Jesus was 
condemned. The children followed the proces¬ 
sion along the Via Dolorosa and up to the doors 
of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

Later they climbed to the Mount of Olives. 
Uncle Lee pointed out the directions of the roads 
since, as he said, all roads in Palestine led to 
Jerusalem. 

“The South road,” he indicated, “from Beer- 
sheba, Hebron, and Bethlehem joins the city at 





34 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


the Jaffa Gate. The road from Nablus, Naza¬ 
reth, and Damascus ends at the Damascus Gate. 
There’s the road from the sea over near the- 
northwest corner; and over in the northeast cor¬ 
ner, past the Garden of Gethsemane, a winding 
trail climbs the Judean Hills from Jericho and 
the Red Sea.” 

At sunset the children walked down to the town, 
past old olive groves and rocky shelters holding 
fig trees. All over the city church towers, spires, 
and domes rose high above other buildings. 
Church bells pealed out, some silvery sweet and 
remote, others closer and more harshly insistent. 
Black cypress trees stood sentinel on a sky line 
as they had in the days of Christ. 

“A city of churches,” observed Peter. 

"A city of faith,” Nancy said softly. 

“The Holy City,” Uncle Lee declared. “Holy 
to Christian, to Moslem, and to Jew alike. To¬ 
morrow we start out on the south road to Beth¬ 
lehem. We shall be there for Christmas Eve.” 

“Christmas Eve in Bethlehem!” said Nancy 
softly. 



AN AGE-OLD TOWN 


O VER the trail where camel caravans and 
laden donkeys and foot-weary travelers once 
trod, the MacLarens drove at what seemed a 
snail's pace for a high-powered car. They glanced 
back once at the walled city of Jerusalem. Then 
the car began to cross the Valley of Rephaim 
and to climb gradually into the hills. It was at 
the top of the long, gently curving hill that Peter 
and Nancy caught their first glimpse of Beth¬ 
lehem of Judea—not of the town itself, but of 
the fields about it. 

Bethlehem, only about a quarter of an hour's 
ride from Jerusalem by car, was a little town 
of age-old stone houses and churches standing 
on top of a hill looking down into valleys. It 
was located, Uncle Lee explained, just far enough 
to the north to miss the traffic on the busy roads. 

“Only about 6,000 people in Bethlehem today, 
mostly Christians!" Uncle Lee, sitting with the 
driver in front, turned around to address Peter 
and Nancy in the back seat. “It hasn't changed 
much since Jesus was born there. You'll see the 
narrow lanes and streets, paved with cobble¬ 
stones. You'll enjoy the vineyards, the olive 
yards, and the terraced gardens. Most of all 
you'll be thrilled by the Biblical costumes and 
customs of the town." 


35 


36 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


The driver stopped at the foot of a hill, and 
asked if Mr. MacLaren would like to see the 
Well of the Magi. 

Peter and Nancy fairly tumbled out of the 
car. Here by the roadside they viewed a huge 
old cistern with two openings. The well was 
still being used by the shepherds of Bethlehem 
to water their flocks of sheep and their strings 
of camels. The stone trough between the cis¬ 
tern tops was almost hidden from view by a 
herd of sheep. On the stone coping sat a shepherd 
with a staff. In his white turban and flowing 
garments, he might well have stepped out of the 
past. As soon as he had departed with his sheep 
at his heels, Peter and Nancy leaned over the 
welFs mouth. In it was reflected blue sky in 
which lovely white clouds floated. 

“Is this really the well in which the Magi 
saw the star that led them to the Christ Child?” 
Peter inquired. 

“I like to think so,” Uncle Lee answered. “We 
can well imagine that it was here they stopped, 
those three weary, wise men. They were not 
even certain that they were near a village, for 
the little town of Bethlehem was hidden from 
them, as you see, by the hill there. But lean¬ 
ing over, just as you and Nancy are doing now, 
they saw, reflected in the clear dark water, the 
Star they had seen in the East. After watering 
their camels, they prepared to go on. Troubled 
because they had been ordered by Herod to let 



AN AGE-OLD TOWN 


37 



Ewing Galloway 

THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY 


him know when they discovered the King of 
Kings and at the same time moved to the depths 
of their beings by the message of the star, they 
rode on into Bethlehem. And there they found 
Him. We three shall stand near the spot where 
it is believed Jesus was born. Upon this place 
is the Church of the Nativity, one of the oldest 
churches in the Christian world.” 

“Uncle Lee, let's not tarry,” Nancy begged, 
using unconsciously the Biblical word. 

From the top of the hill the little town became 
visible. The sides of the hill were cut into many 



38 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


terraces, and olive and fig trees found a footing 
in the rocky soil, while pomegranates and grapes 
grew plentifully. 

As they rode toward the town Uncle Lee called 
attention to a native farmer riding homeward 
with his little girl. A crude wooden plow was 
being dragged along by the donkey on which 
the child rode. Uncle Lee told Peter and Nancy 
of the manner in which he had seen grain har¬ 
vested here. 

“It is done just as in the days of Boaz and 
Ruth,” he said. “The wheat is gathered in small 
bundles by hand and then tied with straw. The 
poor, as in Bible days, are then permitted to 
glean what the workers leave. After that, sheep 
and cattle are driven into the stubble. Later 
the grain is trodden by the iron-shod hoofs of 
oxen to separate the wheat and barley from the 
chaff.” 

The town, with its old stone houses on nar¬ 
row streets, was gay with color. Always after¬ 
ward Peter and Nancy were to cherish the mem¬ 
ory of vivid scarlet and purple whenever they 
thought of Christmas. 

In the home of a student, to whose parents 
Uncle Lee had a letter of introduction, they were 
meted out simple hospitality by the gentle old 
lady and an equally gentle old man. Daily these 
friends took their visitors on pilgrimages about 
the city. 

The garments of the people everywhere were 



AN AGE-OLD TOWN 


39 



Publishers’ Photo Service 

THE CRUDE PLOW OF THE BEDOUIN FARMER 


quite as gorgeous as the flowers. Many times 
Peter and Nancy, on their walks, saw men wear¬ 
ing large turbans of orange or scarlet woven with 
gold and silver threads. Sometimes they be¬ 
held flowing garments of striped silk and cash- 
mere. Outer coats were often made of seamless 
camel-hair cloth. Young men invariably wore 
the high red fez, or tarboosh, with its black tas¬ 
sel. Once at a well Nancy saw two girls wearing 
embroidered dresses and high, pointed white caps. 

Peter and Nancy decided to do their Christ¬ 
mas shopping in Bethlehem. Although many 




40 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


merchant princes lived there who had made for¬ 
tunes in South America and other lands, most 
of the people did handicraft work in their own 
homes. Fine, independent, self-respecting peo¬ 
ple they were, sitting cross-legged in bare rooms 
or in the open courts, while they worked on pieces 
of shell shipped from the Red Sea, the Persian 
Gulf, Australia, or even from New York. The 
painstaking filing and boring would result in a 
lovely pendant, a rosary, or a crucifix. All one 
morning Peter watched a man under a fig tree 
boring holes in palm seed or “vegetable ivory.” 
Brightly-colored seeds, called Mecca fruit, were 
always, he learned, used to make the beads with 
which the Moslems said their prayers. 

Peter and Nancy soon learned that all the 
main streets in Bethlehem led to the market 
square in front of the Church of the Nativity. 
It was the one church that in all their travels 
was to mean most to them. Here Jesus was born 
in the land of lilies. The lilies, they discovered, 
were not white lilies, but were truly lilies of the 
field, brilliant scarlet and rich purple in color. 

On the day before Christmas Uncle Lee, with 
Peter and Nancy, visited the Church of the 
Nativity. The entrance was so small that even 
Peter and Nancy had to bend to enter. The 
original entrance had been imposing, but it had 
since been made so small that only one person 
could enter at a time. 

If the children had expected magnificence, they 





AN AGE-OLD TOWN 


41 



Publishers’ Photo Service 

THE CHRISTMAS PROCESSION AT BETHLEHEM 

would have been disappointed. Expecting sim¬ 
plicity, they were delighted. Within the church 
were two double rows of pinkish limestone pil¬ 
lars. Uncle Lee said they were supposed to have 
been transported from the Temple of Jerusalem. 
Peter and Nancy glanced up at the old wooden 
roof which had been a gift of Edward the Fourth 
and Philip of Burgundy. The wall of white 
plaster had been ornamented with gold and col¬ 
ored mosaics, one fragment showing a row of 
half figures supposed to represent the ancestors 
of Joseph. The high altar was separated from 
the choir by a lovely carved screen. 




42 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Below the transept they entered a little room, 
its walls partly a natural cave and partly ma¬ 
sonry. Here in the flagstones of the floor was 
a silver star, marking the spot where it is be¬ 
lieved Jesus was born. Across the room, where 
the manger was supposed to have stood, there 
had been erected a simple altar. 

Uncle Lee spoke of the midnight services at 
the Church of the Nativity. Thousands always 
come not only from Palestine, but from all parts 
of the world to be in Bethlehem at this time of 
the year. 

Christmas Eve the MacLarens walked out to 
the Well of the Magi. At sunset the range of 
Moab in the distance seemed to be lighted from 
within by a rose-pink light. Later it turned 
to violet, and by the time darkness settled upon 
it, the stars above had grown golden in the dark 
blue sky. And when the children looked down 
the well, one star shone there, just as a star had 
shone years ago. Peter and Nancy raised their 
eyes from the star in the well to the golden star 
in the night sky. Together the three MacLarens 
hummed softly and contentedly the song they 
would have sung had they been at home in the 
United States: 

0, Little Town of Bethlehem, 

How still we see thee lie, 

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 
The silent stars go by . 



THE NEW AND THE OLD 
NCLE LEE drove back to Jerusalem for a 



u day to interview a business man at one of 
the most luxurious hotels Peter and Nancy had 
ever seen, the King David Hotel. The conven¬ 
iences of the West were combined with the color 
and glamor of the East. The Arabian gentleman 
Uncle Lee had come to see spoke of the changes 
that were even then occuring in Palestine, and 
Peter and Nancy lingered over their dessert to 
learn something of the commerce of the East. 

The men were talking of modern tractors that 
were taking the place of the nail plow of Biblical 
times. The mineral oil of Iraq, they said, was 
being piped miles across desert and mountain 
to the sea. The Plain of Dothan, the scene of the 
Ishmaelite caravan taking Joseph into captivity 
in Egypt, now boasted good automobile roads. 
Little houses, lighted in the days of Christ by 
olive-oil lamps, were lighted now by power gen¬ 
erated by the River Jordan. Even the soap¬ 
boilers of Nablus had became modern merchants. 
And a new port had been built at Haifa at the 
foot of Mount Carmel, to carry olives and oranges 
and glassware from Palestine to the far corners 
of the earth. 

Nancy felt a little dismay as she heard talk 
of co-operative creameries and of rotation of 


43 


44 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE KING DAVID HOTEL 

crops. She liked to think of the women of Pales¬ 
tine churning their butter by hand and of the 
unfenced little farms where the reapers tied their 
golden barley by hand. To hear of new Arab soci¬ 
eties organized to study seed, to import Angora 
goats and Merino sheep into ageless Palestine, 
and to know that citrus fruits and bananas were 
being planted for export, seemed sacrilegious. 

“Of course we’ll see plenty of airplanes and fly¬ 
ing boats, and telephones are certainly handy,” 
Peter teased. Then he added solemnly, “But 
somehow it does seem strange to be talking by 






THE NEW AND THE OLD 


45 


telephone from Dan to Beersheba, or worse still 
from Jericho to New York.” 

Everybody laughed and Uncle Lee said, “I 
saw a speed boat on the Sea of Galilee the last 
time I visited here. Peter and Nancy will visit 
the Jordan and the Dead Sea in a day or two and 
will see similar speed boats.” 

Next morning the MacLarens were on their 
way in a little rented car. They had often heard 
the expression, “going up to Jerusalem.” Now 
they realized that in leaving Jerusalem they were 
going down. From 2,000 feet above the sea, 
the drop was far below the Mediterranean sea 
level, 1,300 feet in fact. The fields and groves of 
Palestine had been left behind, and they found 
themselves in a valley, shut in by red sandstone 
cliffs. All about was a desert land fitly called 
the wilderness of Judea. In the bottom of that 
desolate valley lay the famous Dead Sea. Uncle 
Lee said that the maximum depth of the Dead 
Sea was 1,300 feet, the same distance as its sur¬ 
face level below the sea. 

Since the lake had shrunk a great deal in the 
years that had passed, it had left the shoreline 
in odd, broken shapes. Uncle Lee said that 
no life could exist in the salty mineral water of 
the Sea. 

Peter and Nancy stared out at the gently rip¬ 
pling water before them. 

“Pd speak of 'Dead Sea fruit/ Uncle Lee,” 
Peter said mischievously, “if I hadn’t heard 



46 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 


ON THE SHORE OF THE DEAD SEA 

your friend say that the Dead Sea was of great 
commercial value.” 

“Yes,” Nancy agreed. “He said that 40,000 
tons of potash are supposed to be brought down 
annually by the Jordan from the hot springs of 
Galilee, not to mention the bromine, which can 
hardly be estimated. There’s already a distillery 
plant at the northern end of this salt sea. All 
the workers have to do is to pump the salt water 
into evaporating cans, and, lo and behold! the 
Dead Sea gives up 100,000 tons of potash every 
year. Also, there will be enough bromine to sup- 





THE NEW AND THE OLD 


47 


ply the chemical laboratories, the dye plants, and 
the anti-knock gasoline companies of the world!” 

“Nancy is a little business woman, isn’t she?” 
Peter inquired and smiled at Uncle Lee. 

“At least it proves I was listening,” Nancy 
defended herself. 

“I think you both need a swim. There’s a 
fresh-water spring near that commercial plant 
Nancy mentioned, and there’s also a bathing 
beach. Shall we go, Peter?” asked Uncle Lee. 

Peter enjoyed the water that would not let the 
bathers sink, as much as did Nancy. They dared 
not laugh or splash because the taste of the water 
was so bitter. Afterward it was necessary to 
bathe, for a crust had formed on their skins and 
on their hair. Peter said his face felt so stiff 
that he didn’t smile for fear of cracking it. 

“And now,” Uncle Lee announced, “we’re go¬ 
ing still farther south. It’s a little out of our 
way, but it will be worth all the trouble. We 
are going to see Petra, a dead city, halfway be¬ 
tween the Dead Sea here and the Gulf of Aqaba. 
It is a red-rock city with nearly a thousand tem¬ 
ples cut into the rosy cliffs; and not one people 
but many must have lived there, through the 
ages, Arabians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, 
and Romans.” 

Petra, they learned, at one time was the richest 
caravan city of the world. It was the city to 
which valuable goods were brought for storage 
and shipment. Even after Rome fell and Petra 



48 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


was abandoned, it was still considered a sacred 
city, closed to the outside world for 1,000 years. 
Once it had required a month to reach Petra 
from Jerusalem, for the country round about 
had been infested with warlike Bedouins. Now 
airplanes often brought passengers to within a 
few miles of the deserted city. 

After making arrangements with various 
officials in Ma‘an, Uncle Lee secured horses for 
the trip. 

The way led up through a narrow gorge called 
the Siq. The approach was hedged in by great 
towering walls of rose pink and ochre stone, with 
here and there a hardy shrub of oleander in the 
crevices. In places it was only about twenty feet 
wide. Once the passage was paved with blocks 
of stone, but there was little left of them. From 
the top of the cliffs, Uncle Lee explained, the 
MacLarens would look like ants. 

The trip was enchanting, with the magic walls 
of rock constantly opening up before the travel¬ 
ers. Even though Peter and Nancy had antici¬ 
pated a sudden, fairylike vision, they gasped 
in wonder as their eyes caught the first glimpse 
of an exquisite temple in the opening. It was 
a fairy temple, a dream temple, a vision! Would 
it be there when they looked again? In the 
morning light it was a delicate pink. Under 
the moon it would turn to white marble and in 
the noonday sun it would loom rose-red. Uncle 
Lee said it was called el-Hazne , or the treasury 



THE NEW AND THE OLD 


49 


of Pharaoh. To say that its facade revealed 
delicate Corinthian pillars, intricate frescoes, and 
that there were nine figures in the front and that 
a rare urn stood at the top was not to describe it 
at all. It was carved in sheer beauty out of the 
cliff where it stood, and it still seemed so unreal 
that Peter and Nancy wondered how ordinary 
human beings would dare to enter. Yet within 
the hour they had discovered that it had one large 
central room and two small side chambers, not 
connected by interior doors. 

This temple to an unknown god was the finest 
monument in Petra. Although Peter and Nancy 
visited the cavelike dwellings, looked with awe 
upon the entrances to magnificent tombs, and sat 
upon the red steps of what must have been a 
giant amphitheater, they took with them for 
safekeeping in their book of choice memories 
their first vision of el-Hazne in the city of rose- 
colored rock. 




Ewing Galloway 

EL-HAZNE, BEAUTIFULLY CARVED OUT 
OF THE CLIFF 








A TOWN BUILT UPON A ROCK 


B ACK in Ma‘an again the MacLarens met a 
secretary of the American consul who was 
stationed at Aden in southern Arabia. Uncle Lee 
was easily persuaded to accept transportation for 
himself and his charges by airplane. The night 
trip seemed brief, for Peter and Nancy dozed 
through most of it. Whenever they awakened, 
they looked up at the brilliant stars in the vel¬ 
vety black sky. In the morning Uncle Lee roused 
them to look out at the extinct Aden volcano. 

“We’re here at last,” he explained. “Aden is 
1,800 feet above sea level and it is pretty much 
desert; for all that, it handles the business of all 
southern Arabia as well as that of Somaliland 
and Ethiopia. Aden is well worth knowing. Take 
a good look from up’here, youngsters.” 

“If we hadn’t just come from Petra,” Nancy 
said, “I’d say it was the queerest town we’d ever 
seen. Instead of a temple built upon a rock, we 
see a town built upon a rock.” 

“Uncle Lee, can that be the town inside the cra¬ 
ter?” Peter asked, incredulous that such a thing 
could be. “Or is that the town out there on the 
rocks near the sea? There must be two towns.” 

“Yes, there are. The old town actually lies 
within the crater,” Uncle Lee explained. “You 
can see that the rim of the crater is broken down 


51 


52 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


and that fact gives the Arabs a view out to the 
sea. The new town, as you can plainly see, is 
down on Steamer Point. The British landed there 
around 1830 and drove the Arabs back. Perhaps 
I shouldn’t say landed. The cutter in which they 
rode hung onto the stone ledge with grappling 
irons until the officers could land. But the Arabs 
can thank Britain for the rebuilding and widen¬ 
ing of the streets that you see now.” 

“I don’t see a tree,” Nancy complained, “or any 
grass. Maybe there’s a bit of grass over there 
but...” 

“Nor will you see any grass or trees,” Uncle 
Lee interrupted. “The most valuable commodity 
in Aden is water. About 600 A. D. a chain of 
reservoirs was built behind the old town. They 
are called the Aden tanks. The tanks are still 
there. Aden may have only one or two showers 
every other year. Those tanks conserve the water. 
The tank water is sold by auction and you’ll see 
Arabs selling it on the streets.” 

“I shouldn’t think there would be enough 
water.” Nancy was somewhat at a loss. 

“There isn’t, although there is one well in the 
town. Most of the white population now uses 
water obtained from sea water.” 

“Sea water to drink?” Nancy inquired. 

Peter spoke up. “Sea water can be boiled and 
the steam condensed. That takes out the salt.” 

“By the way,” Uncle Lee added. “Aden has 
made quite a business out of salt. Those windmills 



A TOWN BUILT UPON A ROCK 


53 


over there are used to pump sea water into canals 
where salt is deposited.” 

The plane came down on a sandy stretch in 
the midst of a tract of twenty square miles of 
brown rock precipice, and the MacLarens became 
the guests of the secretary, who owned a small 
bungalow. 

There were no flowers about the bungalow, 
and there was no grass. The secretary told 
Nancy that Aden boasted only one flower, the 
Aden lily, which he said grew in rock crevices 
where the roots could reach deep down for mois¬ 
ture. During the hot noonday all the Europeans 
dozed, he said. Only the camel drivers and wood 
venders knew no hours. 

The next morning an hour before dawn a long, 
strange chant arose somewhere in the town. It 
echoed and re-echoed through the rocky hills. 

In a few seconds Peter and Nancy were out in 
the bungalow living room. Whatever was the 
matter, they wanted to know! Uncle Lee found 
them, and sent them scurrying back to their beds. 
It was only the voice of the muezzin, he ex¬ 
plained, and what he was chanting was the 
familiar Arab creed: God the Great; there is 
no God but God, and Mohammed is the Prophet 
of God. 

After this incident not even the guns from the 
fort could arouse the children. Like the sea¬ 
soned travelers they were, they accepted the cus¬ 
toms of the town. 



54 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Neither Peter nor Nancy expected to enjoy 
Aden, but they did. The hot, rocky little town 
looked out upon the bluest sea they had ever seen, 
even bluer than the Mediterranean. Beyond the 
broken-down twin cone of Aden’s volcano where 
Little Aden, a fishing village, had been built, 
the visitors watched the sails of Arab dhows , or 
the masts of tall merchant ships, against the 
gorgeous sunsets. Afterglows were common, live 
rose coloring behind the black crags! 

Though it was winter, the temperature hovered 
between seventy and ninety degrees, and when¬ 
ever the wind came up, it swept dust through 
the streets and into the houses. The consul’s 
wife told Peter and Nancy of the Arab saying: 
Aden is a place where you throw your garbage 
out the door, only to have it flung back through 
your window. 

There was only one park in the town, and 
that was a crescent-shaped plot that ran along 
the sea. On its edge were found the banks, the 
hotels, and the consulates. The modern business 
district was most interesting because of its 
crowds. It was called the Crescent, and it boasted 
modern shops, busses, and traffic signs. There 
was a statue of Queen Victoria among some 
scrubby plants and palms. Uncle Lee said that 
Aden was the first territory acquired by Great 
Britain, in Queen Victoria’s reign. Her statue 
shows her looking down in motherly fashion 
upon the passing crowds, the grimy Arab coolies, 



A TOWN BUILT UPON A ROCK 


55 



Ewing Galloway 

THE CRESCENT, THE MODERN BUSINESS 
DISTRICT OP ADEN 


the tall Somalis in white robes, and the strolling 
British officers in khaki. Ringleted Arabian 
Jews, such as Peter and Nancy had seen in Pal¬ 
estine, carried bags of ostrich feathers across 
their backs to sell to tourists from the boats. 
Once Peter called Nancy’s attention to a string 
of camels on which the riders, all but the leader, 
lay fast asleep. The children marveled that they 
did not fall off. 

Beyond the town lay a wilderness of desert, 
but around the wells close to the town, patient 




56 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


souls raised a little green stuff, such as durra , 
or Indian millet, and lentils or beans. 

“What is beyond this?” Peter inquired. 

“Brown foothills,” Nancy answered. “And 
beyond them?” 

“Lies Arabia,” Uncle Lee said whimsically. 
“Perhaps not so glamorous or so dangerous as 
we might believe. But to us westerners it will 
always spell romance.” 



TWO FAMOUS CITIES 



NCLE LEE called Peter and Nancy to look 


u at the map spread out on the table in the 
living room of the bungalow. 

“Let’s get our bearings/' he said, as if he did 
not know he was in Aden in southwestern Ara¬ 
bia. “You youngsters must realize by this time 
that you are in a part of Arabia known as For¬ 
tunate Arabia. Only Oman in the East has as 
much rainfall. You have been not only in the 
most fortunate part of the country, but with 
the most fortunate people. 

“For one thing Aden is the most important 
camel market of the world. It's an important 
coffee market, too. Mocha coffee is grown in 
Yeman on the coast of the Red Sea, and most 
of this fine coffee is used right here in Arabia. 
As you probably know, the Arabs are great cof¬ 
fee drinkers. You've seen plenty of dates from 
Muscat, as well as quality figs and good goat's 
cheese. The Arabs you have met thus far have 
been city Arabs. Those you'll meet in the next 
few days will be nomads or Bedouins. We're 
going on a pilgrimage, and I've engaged a young 
sheik to escort us part way. Eventually we'll 
reach Mecca where all good pilgrims go." 

The cavalcade which drew up at nightfall be¬ 
fore the bungalow seemed to Peter and Nancy 


57 


58 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


very imposing. There was, first of all, the young 
sheik himself on a fine black horse whose quiver¬ 
ing nostrils reminded Nancy of black poppy 
petals. The sheik was in rich silk and there were 
gold threads woven in his white turban. In his 
train there was a string of white dromedaries and 
he boasted proudly that any dromedary in the 
lot would outlast a horse. Uncle Lee told Peter 
and Nancy that it was nothing unusual for 
one of these white Arabian dromedaries to do 
seventy-five miles in a day. 

Peter and Nancy had ridden camels before. 
They knew how to sit, like a woman on a side¬ 
saddle, with the inside of one knee gripping the 
frame of crossed sticks which corresponds to a 
pommel. There were no stirrups, though Peter 
wished for them. As the camels followed the 
black horse there was no need of pulling the nose 
string or pushing one’s toes into the groove of 
the camel’s neck to make him go faster. 

The twenty-one mile trip over the desert from 
Aden to Lahej was made without incident. 

After the miles of desert, the fan-shaped delta 
looked particularly enchanting. There were dif¬ 
ferent types of buildings in this oasis, all built 
of stone or clay. The roofs were flat for the 
most part, but here and there domes arose. 
Everywhere palms lifted their inviting fronds. 
Besides the palm gardens, dates and various 
kinds of grain grew abundantly. 

Peter and Nancy were led by the polite young 




Ewing Galloway 


A BEDOUIN SHEIK 





60 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


sheik into one of the palaces. It was not at all 
what Nancy expected. True, there were price¬ 
less Oriental rugs, but they were laid on dried 
mud floors. The divans were likewise covered 
with rugs and on a low table were books, among 
them the Koran, or Mohammedan Bible, and 
the famous Arabian Nights Entertainments. 
Big Turkish pipes lay everywhere. Cushions 
were plentiful, and a brass coffee pot steamed 
in the fireplace at one end of the room. The 
aroma was delicious. Against the walls were 
stacks of silver-mounted guns and jeweled dag¬ 
gers. 

The horses in the court were beautifully 
groomed, and most of them seemed to be pets of 
the little children who played with them. Several 
women wearing white veils smiled at Nancy 
with their large dark eyes. 

“The last real comfort we'll have for some 
time,” Uncle Lee remarked, as his party sat 
about the fireplace with the sheik and his father. 
“We'll have to get along without luxuries.” 

The meal they were enjoying consisted of thin 
wheat cakes and meat stew. Uncle Lee said it 
was made of camel's meat. Fingers were used 
to take the meat out of the stew, using a folded 
cake to help manage it. There was rice as a side 
dish. Afterward dates and candied fruits were 
passed, and the men drank coffee from small 
cups. As a last courtesy a boy brought in an 
incense burner, and in the fragrance each guest 



TWO FAMOUS CITIES 


61 



Publishers’ Photo Service 


A ROADSIDE SCENE IN ARABIA 

perfumed his face, his hands, and his clothes. 
Peter was embarrassed by the procedure, but 
Nancy enjoyed it. As women did not dine with 
the men in Arabia, Nancy had been granted a 
rare privilege. 

Uncle Lee had a small caravan made up at 
Lahej to take his little party on to Mecca. A 
Bedouin and his wife, who had come to trade 
some goatskins, were on their way to join their 
own tribe and they gladly consented to act as 
escort. 

This part of the journey was not so pleasant. 
The desert was unbearably hot in the sunlight. 
For that reason Uncle Lee planned to travel as 
the natives did, by night. 



62 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Late one evening at a water hole the Mac- 
Larens met an encampment of Bedouins. Grate¬ 
fully everyone drank of the warm, rather bitter 
water. The Bedouins had set up their black tents 
of goats' hides and had built a tiny fire over 
which they were stewing some rice. They were 
drinking strong black coffee. Their camels and 
cattle had been watered and were now nibbling 
at the sparse coarse grass. 

Uncle Lee said that most of the population of 
Arabia were such nomads as these. Moving 
from place to place for food and water, these 
people made their living by trading wool, skins, 
and goat cheese for flour, dates, and coffee. Of 
the 8,000,000 Arabs in Arabia, a good propor¬ 
tion lived this frugal, nomadic existence. 

The MacLarens finally arrived at Mecca, the 
birthplace of Mohammed. Since one out of every 
seven persons in the world is a Mohammedan, 
and since each Mohammedan feels it his duty to 
visit Mecca at least once in his lifetime, Uncle 
Lee was not surprised to find the city crowded. 
It was not an attractive city into which the small 
MacLaren caravan made a weary entrance. It 
was like an overgrown village with mud-brick 
houses, market place, and barren hills. In their 
travels Peter and Nancy had often seen Moham¬ 
medans praying with their faces toward Mecca. 
It seemed like a dream that they should be in 
Mecca. Tired as they were, they laughed at the 
genuine exultation they felt when they reached 
their strange destination. 



TWO FAMOUS CITIES 


63 



THEY MET AN ENCAMPMENT OF BEDOUINS 

The streets of this sacred Mohammedan city 
were narrow, and dust rose in clouds. The high 
treeless hills and the cheerless flat-roofed houses 
were unimportant so far as the travelers were 
concerned. All life in Mecca gravitated toward 
the huge mosque in the center of the city. About 
that mosque rose the walls of the court, capable 
of enclosing 35,000 people. Inside the mosque, 
Uncle Lee explained, was the Kaaba, a small 
building containing the famous black stone said 
to have been given by Gabriel to Abraham. It 
was believed that as one kisses this stone, his 
sins pass away. An old pilgrim who spoke Eng¬ 
lish told Peter that the stone originally was 









64 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


white, and that it had turned black with the sins 
of the people who kissed it. 

The MacLarens found it difficult to make their 
way through the crowded bazaar. There were 
conveyances and animals of all sorts. Many of 
the people in the crowds wore the regulation pil¬ 
grim dress, consisting of two pieces of white 
cloth, one piece for a skirt and the other to cover 
the shoulders. These devout ones were barefoot 
and bareheaded. 

The eyes of the pilgrims shone, though all they 
saw was a straggling city in a narrow valley made 
by barren brown hills, and in its center the 
huge mosque. The MacLarens followed these 
happy pilgrims, and they even managed to look 
down on the black meteorite, but they did not 
kiss it. 

Uncle Lee hastened with his two charges on 
to Medina, the city in which Mohammed was 
buried. Here they visited the tomb which they 
found inside a great mosque covering three acres. 
The towns of Jidda and Medina reminded Peter 
and Nancy very much of Mecca. Most of the 
houses were flat-roofed, two-storied structures, 
and the central market place had the same sort 
of little stalls and desert products. 

It was at Medina that Uncle Lee paid off his 
caravan and dismissed his keepers. 

"About the only railroad in Arabia,” Uncle 
Lee said, "is the Hejaz railroad. It runs from 
Medina to Damascus. I think you youngsters 



TWO FAMOUS CITIES 


65 



Ewing Galloway 

THE CAMELS OFTEN CARRIED HEAVY LOADS 

have had enough of camels for a while. I have 
to go up to Damascus on business. Damascus, 
you'll find, will be quite a treat after the deserts 
of Arabia." 

They soon left the hot desert sands behind. 
Palms and other forms of plant life were seen 
more frequently, and little villages sprang up 
along the way. Once they saw a group of desert 
people loading a camel with merchandise to be 
taken to another city. Peter and Nancy were 
coming into familiar country. They would have 
liked to stop off in Palestine again, but Uncle Lee 






66 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

A CAMEL CARAVAN IN ARABIA 


insisted they remain on the train as far as 
Damascus. 

“There’s not a single stream worthy of a 
name from the south coast of Arabia to Damas¬ 
cus,” Uncle Lee remarked. 

“Yet,” Peter put in, “one of the pilgrims who 
walked to Mecca said that Damascus was a des¬ 
ert city with rivers from the mountains flowing 
by it and shade trees all about it. Funny for a 
desert city to be like that.” 

“The Arabs called it one of the Gardens of 
Eden,” Nancy declared. “I suppose it seems 
like an earthly paradise when they return to it 
from the heat and sand of Arabia. Oh, for a 
drink of cold, clear water!” 

“You’ll have it,” Uncle Lee promised. “This 
will probably be our only stop in Syria. As you 





TWO FAMOUS CITIES 


67 


know, there are two great cities, Beyrouth on the 
sea side of the mountains, and Damascus on the 
desert side.” 

The MacLarens found that although Damas¬ 
cus did lie on the very edge of the desert, it was 
surrounded by trees and that sparkling clear 
water was plentiful. The beauty of the town 
stopped there. The streets were narrow and 
winding. The mud houses were high with small 
holes in place of windows. 

Unlike the gay crowds of Aden, the people of 
Damascus seemed ragged and shabby. Of course 
some were dressed in long, colorful silk gowns, 
and not infrequently Peter and Nancy exclaimed 
over the very large white turbans and the rich 
blue gowns. The older men traveled always on 
white donkeys, while the younger men rode 
horses. Automobiles were quite common. Street 
cars, run by electricity furnished by the ancient 
Barada River, ran swiftly through the streets. 

Wood was scarce in this desert city, and the 
children saw camels loaded with the roots of des¬ 
ert briars. They were amazed to learn that such 
loads of wood sold for about ten cents. 

“Damascus has to be seen from a distance to 
be appreciated,” Uncle Lee declared as he drew 
Peter and Nancy aside to let a heavily-laden 
donkey pass. “The limestone hills on the west, 
the great desert on the east, and the miles of 
orchards near the city make a pretty picture.” 

“Orchards!” Nancy exclaimed. “Let's drive 



68 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Empire 

TEN CENTS’ WORTH OF WOOD 

out and see them. Please rent horses for us, 
Uncle Lee.” 

The orchards were indeed lovely, with pretty 
apricot trees, gnarled old fig trees, and sturdy 
grapevines. The MacLarens were not surprised 
that Damascus should be called the Queen City 
of the Desert. 

“All because of its geographical location,” 
Peter remarked as he drew his horse up to gaze 
off at the mountains. “If it were not for 
those mountains of Lebanon sending down their 
streams of water, Damascus would be no more 
fertile than Medina or Mecca. It's a lucky city.” 





TWO RIVERS AND A CARAVANSARY 


B OARDING a plane, the MacLarens left 
Damascus, on the edge of the Syrian desert. 
They traveled toward the Euphrates River and 
crossed over it. The land between this river and 
the Tigris appeared to be a mass of gaily-colored 
flowers. Peter and Nancy knew that these two 
rivers finally united to flow into the Persian Gulf. 

“We must be right over Mesopotamia now!” 
Peter guessed. 

“We are,” Uncle Lee cried. “Mesopotamia 
means ‘the land between the rivers.’ It is now 
called Iraq. Nineveh and Babylon once flour¬ 
ished here; today they are heaps of ruins. The 
Garden of Eden was located here, according to 
tradition. Iraq has a short rainy season. You 
are seeing it at its best. By summer the land 
will be a desert.” 

“Didn’t someone say changes were coming in 
Iraq?” Nancy asked. 

“Yes. Discovery of Petroleum near Mosul has 
made this country important,” Uncle Lee an¬ 
swered. “If we had time we would visit Mosul— 
the word muslin comes from it. The people wear 
much cotton, silk, and woolen cloth.” 

“What is Iraq noted for?” asked Peter, as he 
watched the landscape from the plane. 

“Dates, for one thing,” spoke up Nancy. 

69 


70 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


“Don’t you remember seeing ‘Iraq’ on a package 
Mother used last year?” 

“Yes, I do remember,” Peter answered. “Part 
of the country is a continuous date grove.” 

“The land is fertile,” added Uncle Lee. “If 
this country is ever irrigated it can be made 
to produce wheat, cotton, and rice in great abun¬ 
dance, as well as many other farm products. But 
look! There is Bagdad!” 

“Oh, how exciting!” exclaimed Nancy, as the 
spires of the mosques came into view. “City of 
dreams,” she added. 

“City of modern business,” answered Uncle 
Lee, as the plane prepared to land. 

The MacLarens found Bagdad interesting but 
quite like other Oriental cities, with its bazaars 
and coffee houses. Several days were spent 
wandering through the streets of this famous old 
city. Here on the banks of the Tigris they were 
delighted to find a watermelon vender enjoying 
a lively trade. In sun-parched Iraq, these rich 
and juicy melons were much in demand, and 
were widely cultivated in irrigated fields. 

Uncle Lee had arranged to make the next 
part of their trip by caravan, and so they set 
out. The early-flowering deserts of Iraq were 
left far behind. 

One day after a long and tiresome ride, the 
chill wintry sun set, but there appeared no invit¬ 
ing flat roofs with mosques rising above them. 
Both children were silent and weary, but they 




Hiving Galloway 

SELLING WATERMELONS IN IRAQ 



72 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


rode their camels without complaining. Suddenly 
Uncle Lee on his shadowy camel in front turned 
about to shout, “A caravansary ahead! We’ll 
spend the night there.” 

It was amazing how quickly weariness dropped 
from travelers and animals alike. In no time at 
all it seemed the six camels had passed through 
the arched gateway of what looked like a mud 
fortification with long, protective walls. 

The courtyard into which the MacLarens and 
their camel drivers rode was a very busy place. 
Other caravans had arrived earlier in the eve¬ 
ning, and there was an imposing string of camels 
evidently owned by a wealthy traveler. The 
big camel in the lead jingled a loud cheerful bell, 
and the other camels jingled smaller ones. Men 
in baggy trousers, long coats, and black brim¬ 
less hats were busying themselves unloading 
cargo from the animals or cooking supper over 
small open fires. 

“Smells good,” Peter hinted, and Uncle Lee, 
who was very hungry himself, offered to see 
whether he could secure some food already 
cooked. His three camel drivers were unpack¬ 
ing. 

Uncle Lee returned presently with a bowl of 
what looked like meat stew with rice and a plate 
of sweets, evidently made from candied fruit. 
For himself he brought a small cup of very black 
coffee. The three MacLarens sat cross-legged on 
a blanket in the busy court and ate their supper. 




THE COURTYARD OF THE CARAVANSARY 








74 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


It was very cold and there was no fire in 
the inn. Peter and Nancy were shown to their 
rooms, which seemed more like mud and stone 
closets off the court. In each guest room there 
was a low cot with blankets. Nothing more. 

Soon after dawn the loud noises of caravans 
being loaded for departure brought the Mac- 
Larens out of their cheerless rooms into the dull 
morning sunshine. The language spoken, Peter 
and Nancy noticed, was different from any they 
had heard. The women in the court, whom they 
had not observed the night before, were swathed 
in black, even to black veils. 

“I know!” Nancy cried. “We’re in Persia!” 

“I hate to leave the old caravan,” Peter spoke 
up. “I suppose now we’ll be riding on railroads 
and walking in Persian gardens and reciting 
poetry by Omar Khayyam. What do I see—a 
jitney?” 

With a great squeaking a wooden door in the 
caravansary had been swung open, and out 
through the gate rattled an old Ford, piled high 
with bundles of merchandise. 

“I suppose we’ll soon be traveling like that, 
too,” Nancy grumbled. “That’s what it means 
to be in civilization — riding in Fords.” 

As soon as breakfast was over Uncle Lee said, 
“Your travel worry is all in vain, youngsters. 
We stick to camels. The railroad only runs from 
the northwest border of the country to Tabriz. 
As for automobile roads, they aren’t any too 



TWO RIVERS AND A CARAVANSARY 


75 



Ewing Galloway 


BRITISH FORTS ON THE PERSIAN-BALUCHISTAN 
FRONTIER 

plentiful either. There’s one from the west 
boundary to Teheran, the capital, and then to 
Bushire on the Persian Gulf. We’ll not trust 
to roads of any kind, either railroads or auto¬ 
mobile roads. Like good pioneers, we’ll follow 
the trails. We’ll be glad to stop at the British 
forts. We’re in a country that’s none too popu¬ 
lous, and you may be certain that there would 
not be big caravansaries like this if towns and 
villages were not so far apart. A town or village 
can’t exist where there is no water.” 

“Another waterless country!” Nancy sighed. 
“If only Persia had a few of Minnesota’s 10,000 
‘lakes!” 

“Persia doesn’t look like a waterless coun¬ 
try on the map.” Peter was puzzled. “There’s the 







76 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea on the west 
and south, and the Caspian Sea on the north.” 

“A country may be almost entirely surrounded 
by water and yet be waterless in the interior. 
Surely you know that, Peter.” Uncle Lee was 
almost impatient. “Look at Arabia, for example. 
The reason Persia is waterless is that it is high, 
a plateau in fact, and this plateau has a rim of 
mountains that keeps the rain off. The only time 
and place the country gets any rain is in the win¬ 
ter and near the mountains of the northwest. 
The farm lands near these mountains, where 
there are streams, are fortunate, since they may 
be watered by irrigation. 

“You once said,” Nancy argued, “that the in¬ 
terior of Persia was called a basin, even though 
it was from 2,000 to 6,000 feet high. And a 
basin should contain water.” 

“It should,” Uncle Lee laughed. “But the fact 
is, it doesn’t. Why doesn’t it? Well, mountain 
streams in this country of little rainfall often 
dry up in the summer. Streams that do reach 
the farming lands often disappear in the sand 
or end up in irrigation, which in Persia is rather 
difficult. Water is sometimes brought in under¬ 
ground tunnels from the mountain springs but, 
of course, at a great expense. These tunnels 
must be long and must have numerous branches. 
When the water is turned on it flows in little 
streams over the fields and even through the 
streets of the fortunate village where the rich 



77 


TWO RIVERS AND A CARAVANSARY 



Ewing Galloway 

NOMADS OF THE DESERT LIVE IN TENTS 
MADE OF GOATS’ HAIR 


man lives. Such a man rents land and the use 
of water to poorer tenants.” 

Peter and Nancy were amazed, as their camels 
traveled on, to see not a single human being. At 
last Peter spied out on the plains a number of 
black tents and a few donkeys close by. 

“Nomads!” Uncle Lee decided. “We were 
bound to meet some sooner or later. About one- 
fifth of Persia’s population consists of people who 
live in tents and move their few possessions 
whenever necessary, usually twice a year. Some 
move every few months. Right now there is a 
bit of grass here and there, but later in the year 





78 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


these same plains will be very dry, with nothing 
for food but camel thorns. A camel can live on 
the plant, but it's not a dainty food, certainly 
not a juicy one.” 

“Every day I have more respect for camels,” 
Peter decided. “They’re just as necessary in 
this part of the country as automobiles are at 
home; maybe more so. I suppose it takes just 
so long for the sheep and the goats and the cattle 
to eat the grass near the tents. Look! There 
are more tents farther on, over near those foot¬ 
hills.” 

“Of course.” Uncle Lee was not at all sur¬ 
prised. “These nomads live, not as separate 
families, but as neighborhoods. They move as 
neighborhoods, too.” 

The MacLaren caravan paused for half an hour 
at one of the tents to consult a young Persian 
about a trail. Peter and Nancy noticed that the 
floors of the open tents were covered with rugs, 
that there were no beds or other furniture, and 
that the few dishes at hand were of metal. 

At last Uncle Lee sighted a village. 

“Trees!” Nancy exclaimed and could hardly 
wait until she saw close at hand the blooming 
peach and cherry trees. There were mulberry 
and nut trees in the village, too, and in the fields 
at the edge of the mud walls grew cotton and 
wheat. In one garden Peter and Nancy found 
turnips and beans and young cabbages. 

The village itself was a disappointment. From 



TWO RIVERS AND A CARAVANSARY 


79 



Eiving Galloxvay 

A VILLAGE OF MUD HOUSES IN THE 
DESERT OF IRAQ 


a distance it had looked so promising, but it was 
just a collection of mud and straw houses. 

The MacLarens were invited to inspect one of 
the homes. 

“Wait until you see the furnace,'” Uncle Lee 
remarked. 

They guessed that he was joking, but they were 
not prepared for what they saw. There was no 
more furniture in the little mud house than there 
had been in the tent on the plains. In the cen¬ 
ter of the single room stood a table with a heavy 
rug thrown over it. Uncle Lee lifted one edge 
of the rug to show that beneath it a fire had 
been built in a bowl set in a hole in the floor. 




80 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


At night the members of the family all slept 
beneath the rug. 

“Winter in Persia doesn’t sound pleasant,” 
Nancy exclaimed. 

Many days afterward Peter and Nancy saw 
a different side of Persian life. Their caravan 
reached Teheran, the largest city of Persia and 
also its capital. Long before they arrived in the 
city they could see in the distance the cone- 
shaped Mount Demavend. Uncle Lee said it 
was 19,000 feet high, and that its white peak 
and dark forests made one of the loveliest sights 
to be seen in Persia. 

And now the MacLarens were settled in a 
modern hotel and could indulge in hot baths. 
Letters from home, the first in several months, 
were a treat. 

Teheran was a city of broad boulevards shaded 
by green trees, and narrow streets of homes en¬ 
closed in high walls. In the downtown section 
Peter and Nancy might have imagined them¬ 
selves in a western city had not the women who 
passed by been completely veiled in black. 

Almost like a new city was Teheran, with 
its auto busses. Here were palaces and hovels, 
green gardens rising behind dull walls, and great 
libraries. In the royal palace they saw the 
famous peacock throne which had been stolen 
from India many hundreds of years ago. The 
back of the throne resembled a peacock’s tail. The 
entire throne was studded with jewels. 




Ewing Galloway 

THE FAMOUS PEACOCK THRONE NOW IN THE 
ROYAL PALACE IN TEHERAN 








82 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE OLD RUG MERCHANT 


They visited the lively bazaar with its many 
little shops. They passed over small things in 
them to exclaim at the exquisite rugs made in 
Persia, the elaborately embroidered silks, and 
intricate silver and brass work. They passed 
an old rug merchant warming himself in the 
sun, as he waited for customers. 

One afternoon Uncle Lee was invited by an 
American student to visit a Persian relative. 
Peter and Nancy were included in the invita¬ 
tion. They walked on silken carpets that after¬ 
noon, sat on exquisite cushions. They dined on 





TWO RIVERS AND A CARAVANSARY 


83 


pilau , a spiced rice, raisin, and meat dish. They 
tasted cababs, brown bits of meat on skewers, 
and ate of the most delectable sweets made from 
candied fruits. Afterwards in a shady garden 
beside a marble pool, they gazed up at the stars. 
It was not a conventional garden but a place of 
tall trees and climbing roses; and in this land 
of precious water it smelled unbelievably sweet. 



DESERT HOSPITALITY AND 
A FLYING TRIP 


T HE camels stepped gingerly into the soft- 
crusted stream bed, found it firm, and con¬ 
tinued across a plain where the sun danced and 
formed mirages, like snowy mountains and dis¬ 
tant cities. This was the boundary between 
Persia and Afghanistan. Within a few miles 
the MacLarens had come to a mound on which 
an old ruin stood — Islamkala. It was a low, 
heavy-walled fortress, set in a sea of sand and 
scraggly brush. Its mud walls, crumbling in 
places, were not attractive, but the welcome the 
MacLarens received, both from those that tended 
the fort and the people who flocked up from the 
village, was genuine. Peter and Nancy sat on 
cushions in one of the bare rooms and ate flat 
sheets of bread and drank cardamon-flavored 
hot milk. Again and again their cups were filled. 
A polite “No, thank you” was of no avail. Uncle 
Lee looked on with amusement and at last came to 
the rescue. 

“Turn your cup over on your saucers if you’ve 
had enough,” he advised. 

“I should think if all guests drank as much as 
we have,” Nancy spoke up, “the average house¬ 
hold would run low on supplies.” 

“In that case,” Uncle Lee explained, “you 

84 


DESERT HOSPITALITY AND A FLYING TRIP 


85 


would be warned by being served a half cup. 
You won’t always be drinking flavored milk in 
Afghanistan, but there will always be plenty of 
sweet green tea.” 

After a long, hot journey the four great min¬ 
arets of Herat came in view, and, as the little 
camel procession drew nearer, the mud walls of 
the city became plainly visible. The bazaar into 
which the MacLaren party rode ran from one 
gate of the city to the other. The men of the 
town wore large white turbans and smiles, so 
Peter declared, as big as the turbans. In spite 
of their seeming mildness nearly every man car¬ 
ried a gun and wore a great belt of cartridges. 

Peter and Nancy could not take their eyes off 
a small boy who sold tamed birds which he car¬ 
ried in bead or wire cages. These birds were 
partridges and the boy, impressed by Nancy’s 
interest, lifted one of the birds out and stroked 
its brown feathers tenderly. Then he and the 
bird began a game of hide and seek. He chased 
the bird; then the bird chased him. Once he hid 
behind a mud wall, but the canny bird hopped 
around the end and began pecking at his legs 
to attract his attention. Peter wanted to buy 
the bird, but he knew that he could not take such 
a pet on a long journey. He contented himself 
by giving the boy a coin in return for the exhibi¬ 
tion. The boy in turn brought Nancy a lovely 
sprig of syringa, holding it in his hand as ten¬ 
derly as he had held his pet. A few minutes 



86 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


later this gentle lad was pummeling a much 
bigger boy who had teased one of his birds. 

Nancy had been conscious for some minutes 
of a noise high up in the sky. Now the noisy 
sounds became familiar. An airplane! Uncle 
Lee had come up behind the children, and as he 
squinted into the sunlit sky exclaimed, “Well, 
Jimmy kept his promise!” 

Peter gave a war whoop, and Nancy shrieked 
with delight. 

The plane sailed earthward just outside the 
walls of Herat. As soon as it landed, a motley 
crowd assembled to greet it. The MacLarens, 
wildly excited, were in the midst of that crowd. 

The aviator poked his head out of the cockpit 
and saluted. Never before had Peter and Nancy 
been so glad to see Jimmy Dustin, who had 
piloted them over parts of South America and 
Africa. 

The blue-eyed young flyer with the sun-tanned 
face swung his long legs down. His helmet had 
been pushed back, revealing a mop of light hair. 
He whirled Nancy about, gave Peter a swift 
bear-hug, and shook hands with Uncle Lee. 

“I thought you'd need me,” Jimmy grinned at 
Uncle Lee. 

“It's been sandy and monotonous,” Nancy said. 

"And we've heard that most of the rivers from 
here on are hard to cross,'' Peter put in. 

"Sky travel will be more comfortable,” Jimmy 
agreed. 



DESERT HOSPITALITY AND A FLYING TRIP 


87 


The MacLarens flew on in Jimmy’s plane to 
Kandahar, to stop in a guest house over night. 
Such houses, Peter and Nancy were to learn, 
often turned out to be palaces with gardens. In 
this particular house there was a lovely pool and 
tall hollyhocks that made Nancy a bit homesick. 
Apricot trees had been planted in profusion. 
The dark-eyed children who came to visit brought 
their pets for Peter and Nancy to see: a tiny 
gazelle with large liquid eyes, a mischievous mon¬ 
key, a little goat, and a baby camel. 

One little girl brought flowers and offered them 
shyly to Jimmy, a tribute to his flying. Uncle 
Lee warned Peter and Nancy that foreigners 
were not particularly welcome in Afghanistan. 
He explained that the former king and queen 
had visited Europe and on their return had built 
modern schools and homes, only to displease their 
people. 

The Afghan people had been greatly shocked 
because the queen appeared in European clothes 
with her face unveiled. They objected very much 
to the science taught in schools because it did not 
agree with the Koran. 

“You see,” Uncle Lee explained, “Afghanis¬ 
tan is shut off geographically from the rest of 
the world. Most of its people have never been 
away from home. That is why it is so hard for 
them to accept any custom or belief of any other 
people. In the north the rugged Hindu Kush 
Mountains act as a barrier. Other mountains 



88 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


shut the little country from the plains of India. 
In the south and east deserts are as important 
as mountains in keeping outsiders at bay. Af¬ 
ghanistan lies between the Russian lowlands in 
Asia and the British lands of India, and the 
hardy Afghan favors neither country. That is 
why Afghanistan is often called 'a buffer state.’ ” 

The plane landed in the modern part of Kabul. 
The former king had built this new city on a 
beautiful site, separated from the old town by 
brown hills on which crumbling battlements 
stood. He had built palaces and beautiful mod¬ 
ern homes, but they were vacant. 

The MacLaren party went directly to a hotel 
in Old Kabul. On the way they saw camels 
slowly and peacefully making their way along 
the poplar-lined avenue that ran between the 
new city and the old. Beside the camel and 
donkey paths lay the highway itself and the 
tracks that carried a train to the beautiful oasis 
garden. 

Peter and Nancy enjoyed the time spent in the 
bazaars of Old Kabul. They were greatly in¬ 
terested in the costumes. Turbans and gowns 
were most common, of course. Guns or swords 
were always in evidence. Hillmen appeared on 
the streets wearing skullcaps and loose shirts 
tied with sashes. Cotton trousers never reached 
below the calves, and the leather sandals always 
had curving toes. Bare feet were most com¬ 
mon. Nancy remarked that she didn’t believe the 




CARAVAN AND AUTOMOBILE TRAVEL IN THE HILLS OF AFGHANISTAN 













90 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

ONE OF THE KING’S MODERN PALACES 

women of western Asia ever worried about darn¬ 
ing socks. 

As in other Mohammedan countries, the wom¬ 
en wore voluminous costumes that hid them com¬ 
pletely. In the hot, dusty streets of Kabul Nancy 
felt sorry for them. There was always so much 
cloth gathered about the neck and sewed to a 
headdress. Veils fell about the shoulders, and 
the women looked out only through little squares 
of drawn work set in a linen band. Nancy 
often wondered what the women looked like, 
but she could judge only by the little girls with 










DESERT HOSPITALITY AND A FLYING TRIP 


91 


their dark eyes, olive skins, and black hair which 
was invariably parted in the middle and braided. 

One morning the MacLarens watched a parade 
from their hotel window. The king, riding a 
splendid horse, was gorgeously attired. On his 
head he wore a high fur cap to which was fastened 
a great diamond star. His scarlet coat was 
trimmed with gold lace. Jewels gleamed in his 
gold belt, and his sword shone in the sun. His 
white trousers and white gloves were as immacu¬ 
late as a West Point officer’s. He was followed 
by a private bodyguard and other soldiers. After 
the parade there was feasting even in the hotel, 
and Peter and Nancy enjoyed it all thoroughly. 

A gentleman in the dress of a royal Afghan 
soldier called that afternoon at the hotel with 
a basket of fruit for Uncle Lee, containing the 
finest of peaches, apples, and grapes. Cherries 
and figs added to the beauty of the display, and 
among other fruits the MacLarens discovered 
sweet melons which the hotel owner called the 
sarda. 

“He says,” quoted Uncle Lee, “that seeds have 
been sent to California. The sarda will stay 
fresh four or five months after it ripens.” 

The soldier who had brought the fruit had 
brought also a message. Would the MacLarens 
accept the loan of an automobile in which to 
travel through the Khyber Pass? Afghanistan 
was proud of the automobile road and would 
like to know what the Americans thought of it. 




92 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

AFGHANISTAN GUARDS AT KHYBER PASS 

Since the king owned at least fifty automobiles, 
lending one would not inconvenience him. 

“Automobile riding won’t be so thrilling, but 
it will be thrilling to ride in a royal car,” Nancy 
decided. 

“I expected to go through Khyber Pass on a 
prancing steed with a gun in my hand and a 
knife between my teeth,” Peter declared. “It’s 
some come-down. And Uncle Lee says that 
when we get to the end of the Pass, we’ll be in 
the town of Peshawar. From there we take a 
train to Bombay.” 

The motor trip was made without incident, the 





DESERT HOSPITALITY AND A FLYING TRIP 


93 


imposing mountains ever nearer. The car, after 
passing guards, began to wind up through a nar¬ 
row defile. The mountains were barren. When 
Peter and Nancy raised their eyes to the great 
heights they felt small and insignificant. It was 
an eerie place. 

Travel, Uncle Lee said, was allowed only in 
daylight, and forts and soldiers were there to 
see that orders were carried out. 

The MacLarens* car passed long camel and 
donkey caravans as well as other cars. Once 
they saw a small train tugging up a steep slope. 
Of all the highways that Peter and Nancy had 
traveled, the Khyber Pass seemed the busiest 
and most impressive. At the end of it they 
found they had left western Asia behind and 
were entering upon new experiences in eastern 
Asia. 



A LAND OF MYSTERY 


P ETER and Nancy realized almost immedi¬ 
ately that, unlike the western Asiatic coun¬ 
tries behind them, India was a country of rail¬ 
roads. The time would come again, before they 
were through with their Asiatic travels, when 
they would engage a caravan train. Right now 
a very efficient steam train was to carry them 
south to Bombay. The trains were well patron¬ 
ized. It was fun to glance into the coaches, 
so crowded that one could hardly see that the 
benches ran lengthwise. There was more room 
in the freight cars. 

“Those freight cars would tell us we were .far 
from home even if we didn’t realize it,” Peter 
declared. “There’s a nice little baby elephant in 
that car, and shut off from him in another pen 
are some camels.” 

“And of course there are plenty of monkeys 
as well as cats and rabbits and guinea pigs,” 
Nancy observed. “Oh, see those peacocks! Why 
are their eyes covered, Uncle Lee?” 

“The birds’ owners bandage their eyes to keep 
them from flying away.” 

“Did you ever see so many people in railway 
stations as there are here?” 

“Speaking of railway stations,” Uncle Lee 
interrupted, “we’ll see one of the finest in the 


94 


A LAND OF MYSTERY 


95 



PEACOCK PEDDLERS 


Ewing Galloway 


world when we get into Bombay. Looks like an 
elaborate House of Parliament.” 

The MacLarens had a compartment in a first- 
class coach. There were electric lights by which 







96 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


to read, electric fans with which to keep cool, 
and at one end of the car Peter discovered a bath¬ 
room with a tub sunk in the floor. The tall dark 
conductor in uniform wore a turban in place of 
a cap and displayed the utmost politeness. 

“Why so much style?” Nancy inquired of Uncle 
Lee. “I shouldn’t mind riding second-class or 
even third.” 

“We’re riding cheaper than we would at 
home,” Uncle Lee explained, “even with all these 
luxuries. If our funds give out, we’ll try third- 
class. Third-class costs less than half a cent a 
mile. By the way, there are sleeping cars on 
these railways. The passengers furnish their 
own bedding. Since there are no reservations, 
the man who lays his bedding down on the bench 
first has a right to that space. I’m too warm 
and tired to fight over space, but I’m not criti¬ 
cizing Indian railroads. They’re well built and 
well managed. India has more miles of rail¬ 
roads than any other country in Asia. It has, 
I believe, about one-sixth as much mileage as 
we have.” 

Peter and Nancy were soon settled, but were 
too excited and restless to read. 

“King George VI of England is emperor of 
India now, isn’t he?” Peter asked. “Of course 
the country is ruled by a viceroy who represents 
the king. Where does the viceroy live, Uncle 
Lee?” 

“During the winter months at New Delhi,” 



A LAND OF MYSTERY 


97 


Uncle Lee answered. “During the summer, he 
gets away from the heat by going up to Simla 
in the mountains. He has a beautiful estate 
there. As you youngsters probably know, the 
capital of India used to be Calcutta. It was 
changed to Delhi in 1912. Delhi is much nearer 
the center of population than Calcutta. And 
it’s a mighty big population — nearly three times 
as large as ours. This great country is under 
the protection of one of the smallest countries 
on the globe. England, moreover, lies one-fourth 
the distance around the globe from India.” 

“How did England happen to become inter¬ 
ested in India, Uncle Lee?” Nancy inquired. 

“I know,” Peter put in. “It’s a very practical 
reason, sort of a business arrangement. The 
two countries just decided that it would be bet¬ 
ter for trade if they were on good terms. India 
buys goods that are manufactured in England, 
and England buys food that is grown in India. . . 
it seems to me that there was something about 
pepper.” 

“Pepper?” Nancy laughed. “Pepper isn’t im¬ 
portant. No one uses much of it.” 

“Pepper is right, for one item,” Uncle Lee 
decided. “When good Queen Bess was ruler of 
Great Britain, a high price was set on pepper. 
The Dutch, who owned most of the ships trading 
with India, had been selling pepper at a good 
profit. Thinking that no one else could bring in 
pepper, they doubled their price. The English 



98 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


finally lost patience. They decided to build their 
own ships and to bring in the pepper themselves; 
also silks, spices, precious stones, and other 
things for which the nations of Europe traded 
with India.” 

“So they formed the East India Company!” 
Nancy exclaimed. “Now I remember. After 
that they gradually took control of the country. 
It wasn’t so hard as it might have been, because 
the many races in India quarreled among them¬ 
selves. That gave the British a chance. They 
control about two-thirds of India now, don’t 
they?” 

“That’s right,” Uncle Lee agreed. “The coun¬ 
try is divided into eleven British-Indian prov¬ 
inces and about 600 native states. In 1935 the 
British Parliament in London passed on a new 
constitution for India which is gradually being 
put into effect. The two chief features of it are 
local self-government, and a federation of the 
provinces and the native states ruled by native 
princes. You’ll be interested in these princes, or 
rajahs. They are usually very colorful person¬ 
ages.” 

“Do the people of India like the supervision of 
the British government?” asked Peter. 

“Many groups do,” answered Uncle Lee. “The 
British have stopped the warring between the 
different groups in Hindustan. Many of the na¬ 
tive princes were more resplendent than just. 
They taxed the poor almost to starvation to buy 



A LAND OF MYSTERY 


99 


jewels and palaces. England reduced taxes, built 
roads, installed telegraph and postal systems, 
and reformed the farming methods of the coun¬ 
try. Before the British came, famine was com¬ 
mon. Now England sees to it that crops are 
properly raised and that commerce is carried on 
between various communities. She has estab¬ 
lished law and order so that people can trade 
in safety. By the way, it may interest you two 
to know that the East Indians under the British 
Government pay the smallest taxes of any peo¬ 
ple in civilization.” 

“Have you noticed the telegraph poles?” asked 
Nancy. 

Peter, at the window as the train moved 
swiftly through the country, remarked, “They’re 
substantial looking, if that’s what you mean.” 

Uncle Lee gave a short laugh. 

“That’s what she means,” he said. “They 
happen to be made of iron. The white ants of 
Hindustan have a peculiar fondness for wood. 
Chewing up a telegraph pole in a single night 
would not be considered a remarkable feat for 
them.” 

“How big is Bombay, Uncle Lee?” Peter in¬ 
quired. “I’ve always wanted to see it.” 

“Oh, it has a population of over 1,000,000 peo¬ 
ple,” Uncle Lee answered. “You won’t be dis¬ 
appointed. It’s a mighty fine seaport and is built 
on a number of islands about the harbor. Look 
out the window, Nancy.” 



100 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Nancy stared at what appeared to be white 
blooms in the fields of green. 

“Cotton!” she exclaimed. 

“Right!” Uncle Lee applauded. “On the out¬ 
skirts of Bombay there are around eighty cotton 
mills, and big ones, too.” A little later, he asked, 
“What do you think of that railway station?” 

Peter and Nancy stared in amazement. Sur¬ 
rounded by a truly beautiful park rose an im¬ 
mense building of stone with numerous towers 
and several domes. The towers were ornate and 
exquisitely designed, and the arches of doors and 
entrances graceful enough for a cathedral. 

The gorgeous railway station might be a flat¬ 
tering introduction to a great city, but Bombay 
actually lived up to its station. As Peter and 
Nancy rode with Uncle Lee down a wide boule¬ 
vard, they saw fine shops, big modern hotels, 
and well-built schools. 

The taxi wound through the native section of 
shops and bazaars, and although the shops were 
somewhat smaller than those on the boulevards, 
there was an unmistakable air of prosperity in 
the crowded bazaar. 

“Stop! Let's stop, Uncle Lee!” shouted Peter 
suddenly. “Let's see that snake charmer.” 

An old native sat on the sidewalk with several 
snakes in front of him; nearby were baskets con¬ 
taining others. Peter could hardly be induced 
to leave. 

“Before going into the hotel, let's look at the 



A LAND OF MYSTERY 


101 



Lionel Gi'een 


“LET’S STOP, UNCLE LEE!” SHOUTED PETER 

harbor,” said Uncle Lee. “It’s a sight well worth 
seeing/’ 

The sun shone on blue water and masts of 
tall ships, flying flags of England, France, Italy, 
and the United States. Uncle Lee pointed out 
the great dry dock which he said was large 
enough for the biggest steamer afloat. 

It was a beautiful day, full of light and sun¬ 
shine. Even the motley crowds on the streets 
seemed gay. Uncle Lee said that over half of 
the inhabitants were Hindus and that in the 
city itself over sixty languages and dialects were 
spoken. 




102 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Driving out again, after luncheon at the very 
modern hotel where the waiters spoke English, 
Nancy pointed up at the five white towers on a 
hill overlooking the sea. They seemed very white 
and remote. 

“They are the famous Towers of Silence,” 
Uncle Lee answered, in reply to Nancy’s ques¬ 
tion. “Those birds flying above them are vul¬ 
tures.” 

As Nancy looked questioningly at the towers, 
Uncle Lee explained that those Towers of Silence 
really constituted a cemetery. On these towers 
the Parsis lay their dead for vultures to eat. 
Since fire and earth and water are all sacred to 
them, the dead can be neither burned, buried nor 
committed to sea or stream. 

Nancy shuddered but Uncle Lee declared that 
the Parsis were really a remarkable people, 
numbering only about 100,000. They came to 
India from Persia long ago, he said. Their re¬ 
ligion was founded by Zoroaster, and it was a 
fine belief in many respects. The Parsis were 
taught that there is only one God and that in each 
person are two spirits, a good spirit and a bad 
spirit, fighting for control. The teaching is much 
like our belief about conscience, Uncle Lee ex¬ 
plained. 

“Are the Parsis the worshipers who have a 
little fire in Bombay that they have kept burn¬ 
ing for hundreds of years?” Peter inquired. 

“Yes, Peter,” Uncle Lee answered. “The Par- 



A LAND OF MYSTERY 


103 


sis are really fire worshipers. Fire to them is 
a symbol of the best in creation. If their belief 
seems queer and their customs strange, we must 
remember that they are known wherever they 
live for ability, honesty, and kindness.” 

Peter and Nancy were to learn of many reli¬ 
gions in India. They came to realize that these 
people were as honest in their beliefs as they 
themselves were. 



GREEN TEA AND WHITE ELEPHANTS 


“rp HERE'S a perfectly good railroad that 
1 would take us directly from Bombay to 
Madras,” Uncle Lee argued. “Why should we 
make a boat trip to Ceylon?” 

“Because we’re good sailors, for one thing,” 
Nancy boasted. “Besides, we want to visit Cey¬ 
lon. Just think, Uncle Lee, Marco Polo said of 
Ceylon, that it was Tor its actual size better than 
any other island in the world.’ And Marco Polo 
knew better than any Asiatic explorer, before 
or since.” 

“At least he advertised what he knew,” Peter 
remarked. “What stories he could tell, of pearls 
and rich clothes and spices! True stories, too.” 

The trip in the Arabian Sea on a crowded boat 
was decidedly warm and uncomfortable, but 
Peter and Nancy did not complain. From time 
to time a fresh breeze would spring up. Uncle 
Lee said the breeze was called a monsoon, and he 
added that the winter rainy season in Ceylon was 
just ending. 

“Why does it rain in Ceylon in winter?” 
Nancy inquired as the MacLarens sat in their 
deck chairs watching the changing sea. 

“In the winter the water is warmer than the 
land,” Uncle Lee began. “The wind then blows 
from the land to the sea. This movement is 


104 


GREEN TEA AND WHITE ELEPHANTS 


105 


known as the dry monsoon. The winter mon¬ 
soon brings rain to Ceylon from the sea — much 
rain. I’ve been in Colombo when my clothes 
molded in my trunk during three-days’ stay. 
But it makes the tea grow. I wonder if you 
youngsters realize that Ceylon is the second most 
important tea exporting place in the world.” 

“What comes first?” Peter inquired. “Japan, 
I suppose.” 

“No, Assam, one of the northeast provinces of 
India. In parts of the Himalayas the tea plant 
grows wild. Pve seen it grown to the size of 
large trees. It’s believed that tea plants were 
carried from Assam, their original natural home, 
to China and from China into Japan. As you 
doubtless know, China and Japan developed the 
tea industry until for a time they became the 
world’s greatest markets. Now the British are 
encouraging great tea plantations in Assam, 
Ceylon, and some parts of the southwest coast 
of India. Ceylon has been considered the most 
promising place since it has plenty of rain, and 
a temperature that is much the same the year 
around. Formerly more tea was obtained per 
acre in Ceylon than Assam, because in Ceylon 
the leaves could be picked every day in the year.” 

“And now?” Nancy leaned forward eagerly, 
as Uncle Lee paused. 

“Now,” Uncle Lee answered, “the plantation 
owners of Ceylon pick only the best leaves. They 
produce less tea but they get better prices for 



106 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


what they grow. Our fine grades at home come 
from Ceylon.” 

“I’d like to tramp all over the island.” Peter’s 
eyes shone with enthusiasm. “I’d like to watch 
the pearl fishing in the north, go into the jungles 
where monkeys chatter, and climb the mountains 
to the north. I think for a change I’ll ride an 
elephant around Ceylon.” 

“No objection on my part.” Uncle Lee’s bright 
blue eyes twinkled. “My only advice is that you 
choose a tame elephant. Ceylon has plenty of 
wild ones. Sometimes they stampede like wild 
horses, destroying cultivated crops. You won’t 
want for elephants in Ceylon.” 

Nancy was studying the map spread out on 
her knees. 

“I see,” she remarked, “that Ceylon is just a 
trifle southeast of the peninsula of India. Palk 
Strait and the Gulf of Mannar separate it from 
the mainland. It is entirely cut off.” 

“Not entirely,” Uncle Lee objected. “ A coral 
reef called Adam’s Bridge connects the two. Cey¬ 
lon is only about as big as our state of Indiana 
and approximately half as wide as it is long, 
although it is pear-shaped. What a description! 
It’s tropical, of course, being so close to the 
equator, and it is a land of flowers and jewels. 
It is a land of wild life, too. There are leopards 
and bears and wild hogs among the heavy ferns 
and trees. And of course there are chattering 
monkeys and beautiful deer.” 




GREEN TEA AND WHITE ELEPHANTS 


107 


“How about the jewels?” Peter inquired. 
“Are pearls the only jewels found there? Seems 
to me Marco Polo—” 

“Mentioned rubies and sapphires?” Uncle Lee 
interrupted. “Yes. They’re found in Ceylon. 
So is platinum, copper, nickel, tin—even salt. 
Graphite is mined, too, on the little island. It 
is used in the making of lead for pencils, you 
know.” 

The boat docked in Colombo which, except that 
it had an excellent harbor, was not after all much 
different from other Asiatic towns Peter and 
Nancy had seen. Brown men came out in oddly- 
shaped canoes to sell souvenirs to the tourists, 
and there was the usual throwing of coins over¬ 
board with native boys diving for them in the 
clear water. 

Taxicabs were common. So were bullock carts 
and jinrikishas. There were fine wide streets; 
and above the good hotels and fine homes, rose 
the spires of churches and the domes of mosques. 
Uncle Lee said the town was an important coal¬ 
ing station. The railway stations seemed quite 
as busy as the docks, and there were trains 
inland to Kandy. Peter said he had always 
thought of Kandy as a place of “sugar and spice 
and everything nice.” 

As it was early in March everybody in the 
hotels, it seemed, talked of the fishing season. 

“Not fish fishing,” Peter explained unneces¬ 
sarily to Nancy, “but pearl fishing. It lasts until 



108 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Empire 

A BULLOCK CART IN CEYLON 

the end of April. Begins now about the first of 
March. Comes between the monsoons, you know. 
Td like to lease a small place in the shallow 
water along the Gulf of Mannar. Uncle Lee says 
that sometimes a single pearl is enough to make 
a man rich. The only trouble is that it is rather 
difficult to find such a pearl.” 

Uncle Lee secured a car and took Peter and 
Nancy to see the pearl fisheries. They were 
amazed at the sight of so many boats and so 
many natives. Many of the natives lived in 







GREEN TEA AND WHITE ELEPHANTS 


109 



Publishers’ Photo Service 

MANY NATIVES LIVE IN HOUSEBOATS 

houseboats near the water’s edge. The boats 
resembled a canoe in shape, but had thatched 
roofs. Never before had Peter and Nancy seen 
such boats. Uncle Lee persuaded a boatman to 
take the three of them out to a place where 
divers were working. These fishing grounds, 
called paars, were about two miles from the 
shore and under water thirty to fifty feet deep. 

The MacLarens stood on the deck of a small 
fishing schooner and watched natives dive off 
their boats. Not one of these native divers wore 
a diving helmet, but each used a device like a 
clothespin to hold his nostrils shut. A helper 
held a rope at one end of which was a stone 









no 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Eicing Galloway 

NATIVE PEARL DIVERS 

with a hole in it through which the rope was 
tied. The agile brown boy would grasp the rope, 
place his bare feet on the stone, and be let down 
into the water. Always he was gone less than 
a minute and a half. He signaled when he was 
ready to rise by jerking on the rope. He brought 
a number of oysters. Peter wanted to open them 
at once, but the boat owner said they were sold 
in quantities and would later be looked over for 
pearls. 

“One of the oldest industries in the world,” 
Uncle Lee remarked as he drove back to Colombo 






GREEN TEA AND WHITE ELEPHANTS 


111 



Ewing Galloway 

PICKING TEA IN CEYLON 

with Peter and Nancy. “There was pearl fishing 
in Ceylon before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” 

The next excursion of the MacLarens took 
them to a big tea plantation. They made the 
trip on horseback. Nancy thought her first view 
of tea growing was one of the prettiest sights 
she had ever seen. There were miles and miles 
of softly rounded bushes that followed each other 
in neat rows over one hillock after another. 
There was a sweetness in the air from the tea 
and from the roses that grew profusely near the 
plantation. 








112 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


And quite as lovely as the dainty bushes were 
the little brown women who picked the tea leaves. 
They all wore long veiled headdresses and their 
full skirts were drawn in with wide sashes. 
Nearly everyone had a necklace of coins. Al¬ 
though they worked for very little, they did not 
seem unhappy. 

Another excursion took the MacLarens into a 
section of the wooded interior where men and 
women both worked at the task of extracting 
latex from trees for rubber. Up on the mountain 
borders where the tea grew and where even the 
tea factories were set in attractive surroundings, 
often near a little mountain stream, it was cool 
and delightful. In these factories where the tea 
was carefully cured and prepared for export, 
Peter and Nancy spent a joyous hour. Even 
the two-wheeled oxcarts that carried the tea to 
Colombo were picturesque. 

In the rubber lands it was hot and muggy. 
Most of the trees grew on the lower mountain 
slopes. In the forest Uncle Lee pointed out not 
only fine rubber trees but cinchona trees as well. 
The children had seen similar trees in South 
America and knew that the bitter drug quinine, 
so useful in fevers, came from the bark of the 
tree. Peter laughed at the trees called sausage 
trees. Their fruit actually did look like sau¬ 
sages. He was interested, too, in the candle tree, 
from which, Uncle Lee explained, an oil may be 
obtained. Once, long ago, this oil was used in 




Lionel Green 


PICKING COCONUTS 



114 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


lamps, but that was before the advent of elec¬ 
tricity. 

In the lowlands near the sea the MacLarens 
visited a coconut palm plantation. Closer to the 
sea they observed rice fields. There seemed to 
be a good deal of rice; Peter and Nancy were 
surprised to learn that rice was one of the lead¬ 
ing imports of Ceylon. They realized that the 
people of Ceylon must eat a great deal of rice. 
Uncle Lee said that most of the rice came from 
Burma, a country they expected to visit. A 
second import, just as important as rice, was 
cotton goods, from the mainland of India. 



A SEAPORT AND A MOUNTAIN CITY 

T HE MacLarens, looking upon Madras from 
the harbor, all exclaimed, “Palm trees!” for 
there were palm trees everywhere. While the 
main part of the city was a lively center, the rest 
of it, the MacLarens soon learned, was actually 
made up of separate villages. 

Uncle Lee took his charges into the railway 
station while he made inquiries about future 
transportation. He pointed out an incoming 
train from Bombay, a train they might have 
taken had they not visited Ceylon. 

“Other railways run up and down the coast,” 
Uncle Lee told them. “As you know, Madras 
hasn’t a good harbor. Its sandy shore has to be 
protected by breakwaters. But it’s the third 
largest city in India at that. Madras is in a 
geographical position similar to that of Bombay. 
Both cities are located on the sea near a valley 
which leads down from the plateau to a coastal 
plain. Here you’ll see some of the finest rice 
fields in the world.” 

Peter and Nancy found in Madras many 
things more exciting than rice fields. The 
bazaars contained fascinating carved ivories and 
embroideries. The temples were ancient and 
very wonderful. The elephants they saw had 
trappings of silver and gold and jewels. These 
115 


116 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

A TYPICAL RICE GROWER’S HOME 

elephants of Hindustan, Peter learned, cost as 
much as good automobiles and their upkeep was 
quite as much. 

“An elephant,” Peter informed Nancy, -‘eats 
about twenty pounds of rice and wheat a day. 
Besides that he has to have a big mound of hay 
or grass and some sugar cane for dessert. But 
you can make money if you can buy an elephant, 
just the same. Why, here in Madras they carry 
most of the produce that's loaded on the trains 
and shipped. They carry cotton, tobacco, skins, 
spices, grains, and valuable cloth. Much of this 






A SEAPORT AND A MOUNTAIN CITY 


117 


stuff in the Madras markets will find its way 
into the United States.” 

The MacLarens were having lunch in an Eng¬ 
lish hotel. 

“Madras is governed by the British, of course,” 
Peter remarked. 

“Oh, yes.” Uncle Lee looked up smiling. “One 
of the first governors of Madras was Elihu Yale.” 

“The one who founded Yale University?” 
Nancy asked. 

“Right you are,” answered Uncle Lee. 

The railway stations of India seemed to have 
great attraction for Uncle Lee. In a few days 
Peter and Nancy found themselves on a train 
bound for Hyderabad, the capital of a province 
of India, having a population of 500,000 within 
its walls. 

“Walls!” Peter exclaimed. “Do you mean that 
literally, Uncle Lee?” 

“Wait till you see these walls,” Uncle Lee re¬ 
plied. 

Peter and Nancy were startled by the rocky, 
mountainous country, so much wilder than any¬ 
thing they had seen farther south. The walls 
of Hyderabad were the biggest, thickest walls 
the children had ever seen. They were six miles 
in circumference, and Uncle Lee said that there 
were thirteen gates, each one quite as big as the 
one by which the MacLarens entered the city. 

“The Nizam is a Mohammedan,” Uncle Lee 
declared, as he drove about the city with Peter 



118 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


and Nancy. “Most of the citizens, however, are 
Hindus.” 

“Some of them look like Arabs,” Peter guessed. 
“And that fierce merchant over there looks like 
a Turk.” 

“Your guesses are probably accurate,” Uncle 
Lee agreed. “Over there are some Persians and 
talking to them are Moors. People from all 
parts of India and Europe come here to trade.” 

Although there were many modern shops on 
the prosperous modern streets of Hyderabad, 
the MacLarens spent many hours in the native 
bazaars where, in tiny crowded shops, they dis¬ 
covered the real treasures of India. These little 
shops opening on the street often turned out to 
be factories as well. Many a time Peter stopped 
to watch a silversmith, cross-legged in his shop, 
as he worked on a filigree ornament. The mer¬ 
chants that fascinated Peter most were the bare¬ 
foot ones who used their feet almost like an extra 
pair of hands. 

Nancy delighted in the beautiful embroidery, 
often done with gold and silver thread. Again 
and again she went to see the Cashmere shawls 
which Uncle Lee said were woven of the wool 
of Cashmere goats. Such shawls, he explained, 
were made by the same families for generations. 
Making shawls so fine was very difficult work 
and had to be done slowly and carefully. 

“Fll show you a ring shawl, Nancy,” Uncle 
Lee suggested one afternoon as the three travel- 



A SEAPORT AND A MOUNTAIN CITY 


119 



Keystone View 

A SWEETMEAT VENDOR 


ers left their hotel. “Peter should see this, too.” 

“I don’t care for shawls,” Peter decided. “But 
maybe a ring shawl is different.” 

Uncle Lee took the children to a small open 
shop. The Hindu shopkeeper was a distin¬ 
guished-looking old man who wore an immense 
turban. His bright black eyes looked very keen 
above his snowy beard. He smiled at Nancy and 
put into her hands a shawl bigger than Grand- 



120 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


mother’s at home, fully as wide and long as a 
good-sized bedspread. Yet it seemed to have no 
weight. It felt like silky down in Nancy’s hands, 
and even Peter was impressed by its lightness 
and beauty. 

The patriarchal Hindu asked to borrow Nancy’s- 
little gold ring. Then slowly but easily he in¬ 
serted one corner of the shawl into the ring and 
pulled the shawl through. He took it out and it 
was as lovely and smooth as ever. 

In the Hindu shop Nancy saw fine muslins 
made of Dacca yarn, and exquisitely woven rugs. 
Later Uncle Lee visited workers in metals and 
precious stones. Nancy had never before seen 
such intricately fashioned pendants, such elabo¬ 
rate rings, such delicate brooches. Wherever 
ships went, these merchants affirmed, the goods 
of Hyderabad went with them. 

“I’m glad Hyderabad has remained a native 
state,” Peter remarked as the MacLarens left 
the bazaar. “The Nizam must be a remarkable 
person. There’s a whole section of the town 
devoted to his palaces, and that shawl merchant 
told me that he owned a private army with 
camel soldiers and elephant troops.” 

“He’s one of the richest rulers in India,” Uncle 
Lee remarked. “His yearly income is several 
millions and he buys cars by the hundreds. 
Nancy would be interested in his dinner service. 
It’s of solid gold.” 

“How is it that he is so rich?” Nancy inquired. 



A SEAPORT AND A MOUNTAIN CITY 


121 


“His province takes in thousands of villages,” 
Uncle Lee explained. “Even small revenue from 
each and every one would net him a fine income. 
Then there are large imports and exports on 
which he collects duties. He’s a fine business 
man and vitally interested in his country’s wel¬ 
fare.” 

From their hotel balcony Peter and Nancy 
looked out at the flat-roofed houses with their 
pretty balconies and at the gaily clad people 
on the streets. They saw the camels, the don¬ 
keys, and the new automobiles as signs of pros¬ 
perity. And even as they looked several richly 
decorated elephants ridden by dark-skinned driv¬ 
ers wearing white turbans came up the street. 
Behind them sounded a clatter of horses’ hoofs. 
The clink of jewelry, the tinkle of camel bells, 
and the laughter of natives mingled with the 
purr of a big car. Above the bustling crowds 
outside the city walls rose the wild crags of 
high mountains as if to protect them. Yes, it 
was a city for the Nizam to be proud of. 



A DELTA CITY 


B ACK to Madras went the MacLarens in the 
camel train of a Hindu merchant who was 
delivering valuable shawls to a special customer. 
And following this high adventure, they went 
aboard the very merchant ship that was carry¬ 
ing the customer with his shawls up the Bay of 
Bengal to Calcutta. The ship was crowded and 
boasted none of the cleanliness and order found 
on transatlantic liners. It did, however, have the 
spicy, warm smell of the East. A vigorous little 
boat, its funnels belching black smoke, followed 
in the wake of the merchant ship. It was from 
Rangoon, at the month of the Irrawaddy River 
in Burma, and was loaded with petroleum for 
Calcutta. 

One morning a few days later Peter and 
Nancy, standing at the rail of the crowded deck, 
noticed the throbbing of the engines had stopped. 
There was no sign of land. Out over the calm 
waters of the Bay of Bengal came the distant put- 
put of a launch. A few minutes later a man in 
the uniform of a ship’s officer climbed the rope 
ladder on the side of the merchant ship. 

“Who is he? What’s the matter?” Peter and 
Nancy inquired together as Uncle Lee swung 
along the deck toward them. 

“He’s the river pilot,” Uncle Lee explained. 


122 


A DELTA CITY 


123 


“ He’s going to guide us up the Hooghly River 
to Calcutta.” 

“There’s no sign of a river.” Peter looked 
down over the rail. “Remember how we could 
see the water of the Amazon in the Atlantic? 
The fresh water flowing into the salt made it all 
a muddy brown color. Of course Uncle Lee 
ought to know about this river.” 

“Look at your pocket map, Peter,” Uncle Lee 
invited. “We’ll sit down here in these deck 
chairs and get our bearings.” 

In spite of the chattering and scuffing all 
around, Uncle Lee pointed out to his charges 
that the Ganges River, flowing down through the 
sandy plains from the north, gathered a great 
deal of silt. The Brahmaputra River flowing 
from the east into the Ganges, added its burden 
of silt. The result, Uncle Lee said, was a big 
delta at the mouth of the Ganges. Through the 
delta many streams run, of which the Hooghly 
had proved the most important commercially. 

“From the mouth of this river to Calcutta,” 
Uncle Lee announced, “is a good eighty miles. 
We shall have to travel slowly. Any river flow¬ 
ing through loose sand is constantly changing 
its channel, and even a fine pilot must be care¬ 
ful of sand bars and shallow banks.” 

The first sign of land was a little clump of 
stunted palms. Soon the boat was moving 
between flat banks on which tall wild grasses 
grew. The marshy land gave way to slightly 




124 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


higher banks and the desolate grasses to clumps 
of bamboo, mango trees, and bananas. Now 
there appeared an occasional thatch-roofed house 
on a small mound with water about it. Little 
boats became common, small sailboats full of 
hay or laden with bales of jute or bags of rice. 
There were clumsy rowboats, too, manned by 
oarsmen who walked back and forth to operate 
the oars. On a narrow roadway Peter and Nancy 
watched oxen pulling heavy carts and dark 
brown natives clad in white carrying bundles 
on their heads. 

“Tigers and crocodiles in those tall grasses 
and in the swamps," Peter guessed. “Farming 
can't be very pleasant. Those roads look bumpy." 

“They are bumpy," Uncle Lee agreed. “Dur¬ 
ing the summer the rains flood the roads and any 
work already done has to be done over. The 
villages, you'll notice, are built upon the high¬ 
est land. If you wanted to build a hut here, 
Peter, you'd build up a mound of earth first — 
making your own little hill for your own little 
house. All you would need for a house in this 
warm climate would be a few reeds woven into 
grass mats for walls, and a thatched roof. The 
hole you dug to make the mound for your home 
would soon fill with water and thus become your 
private pond where you could get your water 
for cooking and take your regular baths." 

“It wouldn't be pure water," Nancy objected. 

“It never is," Uncle Lee agreed. “The bad 



A DELTA CITY 


125 



H. Armstrong Kooerts 

A TIGER IN THE SWAMPS 


water accounts for epidemics that have spread 
over Calcutta. No sanitation to speak of! If 
you went inside one of those homes, you’d be 
shocked at the crudeness. There are two rooms, 




126 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


usually, one for eating and one for sleeping. In 
the eating room you’d find a few brass dishes. 
There would be no table. At mealtime a cloth 
would be spread out on the dirt floor. In the 
sleeping room you’d see a pile of sheets or blan¬ 
kets, but no beds. Leaning against the wall 
might be boat paddles or farm implements, but 
nowhere would you observe any attempt at 
beautification.” 

“The soil must be rich,” Peter guessed. “New 
dirt every year and plenty of moisture.” 

“It’s the richness of the soil and the amount 
of moisture that determine the crops.” Uncle 
Lee pointed toward a little thatched hut on a 
hillock. “About his house the delta farmer 
plants his mango and banana trees. In the dri¬ 
est places he grows green vegetables, peas, and 
beans. His main crops of rice and jute require 
very wet soil. You’ve seen farmers standing in 
flooded fields planting rice, but I don’t believe 
you’ve seen them plowing for jute. The ground 
must be very deeply plowed before the seeds are 
sown broadcast. Jute grows tall and strong. 
After it is cut, the ends are retted or rotted so 
that the stalk can be stripped of its rough fiber. 
Jute is used in making gunny sacks. Our word 
gunny comes from the Indian name for sack.” 

“The next time I see a gunny sack back home,” 
Nancy promised, “I’ll remember the delta farmer 
and the work he has to do to grow jute and to 
strip it.” 



A DELTA CITY 


127 


"It's time for the rainy season to begin,” 
Uncle Lee observed. “Some of the farmers have 
begun plowing. They use the crudest of plows, 
more like sharp sticks than anything else.” 

“We’re coming to some factories,” Peter spoke 
up. “They look modern, too.” 

“They’re jute factories,” Uncle Lee explained. 
“They handle about 8,000,000 bales a year. I 
don’t know how many gunny sacks they weave. 
We buy more jute than any other country in the 
world — buy it not only to sack our potatoes and 
onions, but we use it in the manufacture of lino¬ 
leum and jute rugs. That rough rug on your 
mother’s back porch, Peter, is a jute rug. It 
will never wear out, they say.” 

“Seaport and railroad center,” was the way 
Uncle Lee described Calcutta. “Ships bringing 
jute up the delta rivers like the Hooghly and 
down the Ganges. Railroads from the north 
bringing tea! Cargoes of oil seeds, flax, and cas¬ 
tor beans from the northwest! Lac, too, that 
peculiar finish made from the skeletons of tiny 
bugs and known to the public as fine varnish! 
Trains and boats laden with cotton goods, woolen 
goods, iron, automobiles, and steel. Sugar from 
Java and machinery from the United States.” 

The moment the MacLarens landed at the 
dock, they were whisked into the business dis¬ 
trict of Calcutta with its modern buildings and 
paved streets. Peter and Nancy saw street cars 
and fine automobiles. 



128 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

CLIVE STREET IN CALCUTTA 

After lunch, they drove into the residential dis¬ 
trict. The lawns and gardens and homes were 
not unlike those in a flourishing English or 
American city. 

One of the handsomest palaces in the city was 
that of Badra Dos. The MacLarens exclaimed 
at the sight of the beautiful white building with 
its elaborate facade and statues. 

It was the natives on the streets that were 
a constant reminder to Peter and Nancy that 
they were in India. The taxi driver who showed 
them about spoke good English, but he was a 








A DELTA CITY 


129 



Publishers’ Photo Service 

THE PALACE OF BADRA DAS 

dark-skinned native and wore a bright turban 
with streamers behind. Most of the men wore 
white cloth garments and dark jackets. The 
women wore dresses made of long pieces of 
cloth and gracefully draped. 

“There’s another part of Calcutta,” Uncle Lee 
remarked on the last morning in the big hotel. 
“You children must see it.” 

The native section of the city was very shabby 
and crowded. Walls of stone shut off the better 
homes. Peter and Nancy paused before a tem¬ 
ple where half-starved beggars pleaded for coins 





130 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Lionel Green 

NO ONE EVER SHOOED A SACRED COW AWAY 

and mangy dogs whined at Peter's heels. It was 
a depressing experience. The children hoped the 
time would come when the rich land of the delta 
would feed all the unfortunate as well as the 
fortunate. 

Both children had noticed cows even in the 
better parts of the city. No one ever shooed a 
cow away, and everybody walked around one. 
The cow, the children learned, was considered 
sacred in India. 

“I think the poor should be considered sacred 
too," Peter solemnly affirmed. 





THE SACRED RIVER 


P ETER and Nancy had hoped that Uncle Lee 
would consent to a boat trip from Calcutta 
to Delhi, but he said that the rainy season was 
at hand and the boat trip would be unbelievably 
slow. For the most part, the train trip could 
be made at night in sleeping cars, with side ex¬ 
cursions in the daytime out on the Ganges plain. 

The first excursion took Peter and Nancy out 
to a farm. Scuffing through the brown dirt 
behind the tall figure of Uncle Lee and a little 
brown man, the children thought the farm a 
most disheartening place. The farmhouse was 
merely a mud hut. 

“If we had time, we’d watch the building of 
one of these houses,” Uncle Lee told the children. 
“I believe you could build one, Peter. All you’d 
have to do would be to measure out the walls 
with a string and then mix dirt and water to form 
them. Only a foot of wall is built at a time. 
It is left to dry in the hot sun before more mud 
is added.” 

“How about the roof?” Peter inquired. 
“Bamboo poles,” Uncle Lee replied. “Bunches 
of rice grass for thatching.” 

When Uncle Lee asked the little brown man 
how far his farm extended, the man did not 
spread his arms in a wide gesture. He showed 
131 


132 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


the MacLarens that he owned a tiny piece here 
and a smaller piece there. 

“I should think,” Nancy ventured, “that it 
would be handier to have the farm all in one 
piece.” 

“It would,” Uncle Lee agreed. “But you see, 
it’s the custom for a man in India to leave an 
equal amount of his farm, when he dies, to each 
son. Accordingly, he divides whatever he has 
into pieces, and such pieces are often very small.” 

Back on the train once more, Peter and Nancy 
were silent and solemn. Later they saw that not 
all the land was brown and sere. There were 
winter crops of flax and barley, and there were 
beautiful fields of sugar cane, which, Uncle Lee 
said, needed a long season for growing. Of 
course the sugar cane had been irrigated, but 
the coming rains would be the main source of 
moisture for this important crop. 

The weather was becoming more sultry. One 
night, while the train traveled on, Peter and 
Nancy in their berths were awakened by a 
strange sound. It was raining — raining hard. 
Sighing with contentment the MacLarens went 
back to sleep. 

Benares at last! The MacLarens refreshed 
themselves in a fine British hotel. 

Early the following morning, Uncle Lee hired 
a carriage to drive to the famous water front 
of Benares. Although a city of 200,000 people, 
the population was always swelled to a much 



THE SACRED RIVER 


133 


larger number by pilgrims. Driving through 
the streets was in itself an adventure. They 
had to go slowly because of the crowds on foot. 
Little brown children ran along with their 
brown-skinned fathers and mothers. The men 
and women, for the most part, wore long strips 
of white or gaily colored cloth wrapped around 
their bodies and pulled over their faces. There 
was a tinkle and clank of jewelry, for even the 
poorest women wore metal bracelets from wrist 
to elbow and anklets of gold or silver as well. 
Nancy was amused by the rings and bells on the 
toes of one little brown woman. Some women 
were wearing rich Cashmere shawls and sandals. 
There were many sick and lame and old people 
in the crowds, and oftentimes a maimed pil¬ 
grim. One and all were bound for the Ganges. 

“We shall see pilgrims bathing in the Gan¬ 
ges!” Peter cried. “Why do they call it the 
sacred Ganges?” 

“There’s one reason even we should be able 
to understand,” Uncle Lee said solemnly. “The 
Ganges, carrying the silt down from the moun¬ 
tains, is what has made life possible all over the 
wide Ganges plain.” 

Uncle Lee dismissed the driver at the upper 
end of the city and hired a rowboat manned by 
a half-dozen brown Hindus wearing white gar¬ 
ments and white turbans. 

The water front was a mass of people either 
bathing in the river or swarming over the sands. 



134 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 


THE BATHING GHATS AT BENARES 

Back of them rose the walls and towers of many 
temples, some of them in sad need of repair. 
But it was the people, not the buildings, that 
were most interesting. There were three miles 
of steps upon which half-naked men and women 
of all classes swarmed, most of them saying 
prayers, dipping up the water in vessels, or wad¬ 
ing out into it. The water was cold, but the 
bathers were thinking not of their own comfort, 
but of the bliss that would be theirs when all 
their sins were thus washed away. 

“Hinduism teaches that bathing in the Ganges 




THE SACRED RIVER 


135 


does wash away all sin,” Uncle Lee explained. 
“All the Ganges is sacred, but this spot in Be¬ 
nares is held most sacred of all. To die even 
within ten miles of this sacred spot is believed 
to insure entrance into Heaven. The men sit¬ 
ting so silently are holy men. That starved- 
looking creature in rags with his arm held up 
in one position — he has held it there so long 
that he will never be able to use it — is a peni¬ 
tent. Hinduism teaches that such self-torture 
will mean bliss in the life to come.” 

“Look at the cows!” Nancy exclaimed. “They 
wander right in among the people. Some of 
them have wreaths of marigolds about their 
necks. And see the black ashes floating in the 
stream. Something is burning down at that 
end of the steps.” 

“The dead,” Uncle Lee declared solemnly. 
“That is a burning ghat, a wide step on which 
the Hindus, after dipping the dead in holy water 
of the Ganges, cremate the bodies. The ashes 
are then thrown into the river.” 

“I thought ghats were mountains.” Peter, 
seeing that Nancy looked rather pale, tried to 
change the subject. 

“They are,” Uncle Lee answered. “The East¬ 
ern and Western Ghats are the principal moun¬ 
tain ranges of south India, bordering its coasts. 
You and Nancy had several close glimpses of 
them. By the way, how would you like to visit 
the Golden Temple and the Monkey Temple? 



136 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


There are a thousand or more temples in Be¬ 
nares, but I think you youngsters will like these 
best.” 

“They sound interesting,” Nancy affirmed hol¬ 
lowly. 

The Golden Temple was truly gold, as Nancy 
said afterward. Uncle Lee declared that the 
plated gold spire could be seen for miles by pil¬ 
grims approaching the city and that the sight 
was encouraging to weary, footsore travelers. 
The god Siva, for whom the temple was built, 
was supposed to live high on one of the peaks of 
the Himalaya Mountains and to be waited on by 
many spirits. With Brahma and Vishnu, Siva 
formed the Hindu trinity. 

In another temple, not far from the Golden 
Temple, were kept a hundred live sacred bulls. 
These animals, of white and dove gray, were 
used in the worship of Siva. The faces of Peter 
and of Nancy lighted up at the sight of the 
docile beasts. The bulls were odd-looking, with 
humps on their backs and long rabbit-like ears 
hanging down from their heads. They looked so 
gentle and so mild that Peter and Nancy joined 
the people who were petting them and putting 
garlands of flowers about their necks. It was 
like feeding pets on the farm back home except 
for the air of mystery that enveloped everything 
in Benares. 

Uncle Lee had once remarked that there 
seemed to be more cattle in India than in any 



THE SACRED RIVER 


137 



Ewing Galloway 

THE MONKEY TEMPLE 

other country in the world. Peter and Nancy 
had come to realize that these cattle were not 
beef cattle but sacred cattle used only in work. 
All over the city, as Uncle Lee drove the children 
about they observed cattle drawing carts. Often¬ 
times their horns were decorated with ribbons or 
fresh flowers. 

“And now for the Monkey Temple, Uncle 
Lee,” Peter announced. “Surely you haven’t 
forgotten.” 

The temple of Hanuman, the monkey god, was 
not so pretentious as the Golden Temple, but it 





138 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


was, as Peter put it, twice as exciting. The 
MacLarens entered a court and saw immedi¬ 
ately that the big trees overhanging the wall 
were filled with chattering monkeys. It was 
frightening to Nancy, and she threw down the 
popcorn she had brought all at once. But Peter 
took his time, laughing as the drove of monkeys 
swooped down to fight over the corn. 

There seemed always to be on the streets per¬ 
sons, both men and women, who hid their faces, 
stepping aside for others to pass. 

“Who are they?” Nancy asked Uncle Lee as 
she strolled along between him and Peter after 
leaving the Monkey Temple. 

“The untouchables,” Uncle Lee answered. 

“The untouchables!” Peter exclaimed. “Have 
they some contagious disease like leprosy? Or 
are they criminals?” 

“They are probably those who have been born 
outside of any caste,” Uncle Lee explained. “The 
work a man does, or his profession, determines 
his social position or caste. You see, there are 
four main castes with many subdivisions under 
each. There are the priestly or Brahman, the 
warrior, the trading, and the laboring castes. 
Below these are the outcasts or untouchables. 
They are those who have broken some rule of 
the caste system, such as entering the home of 
one in a higher caste or touching his food. The 
children of these unfortunates are also outcasts. 

“Our belief that all men are created equal is 



THE SACRED RIVER 


139 



Keystone View 

A MOHAMMEDAN SCHOOL IN INDIA 


just the opposite of the Hindu belief. Here in 
India a man can never leave his caste. If his 
father is a priest, he must be a priest. If his 
father is a peasant, he must be a peasant. He 
remains always in the caste into which he was 
born. In America a man can make a good posi¬ 
tion for himself through his own ability and 
training. But in India a man has no chance to 
rise, unless a miracle happens. Once in a great 
while some interested Britisher takes it upon 
himself to educate an untouchable.” 

“I wish I could help a few,” Nancy sighed. 

“So do I,” Peter agreed. 

Uncle Lee said there were thousands of little 
villages on the Ganges plain. He took Peter and 



140 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Nancy to see one. The main street was nothing 
more than a rough alleyway with mud houses 
facing it. A few of the houses hid behind mud 
walls or mango trees. There were mud stables 
for the lean cattle, but the poor dogs, that were 
everywhere present, seemed to have no homes. 
The men, women, and children worked in the 
fields for the most part and returned at noon 
to their rice, and, in season, to their vegetables. 

“How about school?” Peter inquired. “The 
British surely believe in education, if the Hindus 
don’t.” 

“Come on. I’ll show you a village school ” 
Uncle Lee invited. 

He led Peter and Nancy to a small, one-room 
mud schoolhouse. Outside on the ground sat the 
younger pupils. The tall, dark Hindu teacher, 
in clean white cotton trousers and white turban, 
was patiently showing the little ones how to count 
with seeds. Inside the schoolhouse, the older chil¬ 
dren squatted on the floor with their reading, 
writing, and arithmetic. 

“It is only the rich,” Uncle Lee said as they 
left, “who can send their children away to 
school.” 








CITIES OF THE RAJAHS 


T HERE are two cities in north central India 
that are cities of romance,” Uncle Lee de¬ 
clared as the three travelers left Benares in a 
car, “Agra and Delhi. I’m not going to tell 
you youngsters much about them. I’m going to 
let you judge for yourselves.” 

They started for Agra in a car. As they rolled 
over the drawbridge of the great, red-walled 
fort at Agra, Peter and Nancy felt as though a 
magic carpet had transported them back across 
the centuries. A drawbridge over a moat, just 
as Peter had seen it in many a book of adventure! 
The fort, built by a rajah several hundred years 
before, boasted great high rooms and a splendid 
courtyard. But it was empty except for soldier 
guards and visitors. 

“This is the Jasmine Tower,” Uncle Lee 
pointed out as they entered a lovely courtyard. 

The walls of the Tower, which were of inlaid 
marble and set with semiprecious stones, en¬ 
closed a rich flooring in the center of which 
was a marble basin with a bubbling fountain. 
Here a famous emperor and his empress had en¬ 
joyed many a happy hour. From the window 
in the Jasmine Tower Peter gazed across the 
broad Jumna River to the opposite bank. This 
open, unglazed window was the one from which 


141 


142 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


the dying Shah Jahan looked upon the mauso¬ 
leum for which he had made poor an entire 
people. 

“The most beautiful building in the world!” 
Peter exclaimed. 

“The rest of the world agrees with you, Peter,” 
said Uncle Lee. “That is the Taj Mahal. We’ll 
visit it. Meantime we’ll stroll around in the park, 
and Fll tell you about this famous building.” 

The park proved to be a delight. Palm trees 
Peter and Nancy expected to find, but they saw 
also orange trees, and flowers: exquisite roses, 
lilies, and smaller varieties. From the red gate 
in the wall that surrounded the park the Mac- 
Larens strolled up the broad paved walk. Tall 
rows of dark cypress trees on either side lent 
majesty to the approach. Ahead was the shim¬ 
mering marble of the Taj Mahal. Could it be 
real? On one side of the walk was a canal in 
which were many fountains. Giant water lilies 
floated on the surface. The fragrance of the 
flowers and the sound of plashing water were 
more real than the building ahead. It was, as 
Uncle Lee said, “ ‘Like no work of human builders 
but a care of angel hands.’ ” 

The entire structure was of dazzling white 
marble. About the central dome were four 
smaller domes; at each corner of the platform on 
which the tomb was built, minarets rose into the 
blue sky. There was not a particle of wood or 
metal; the entire building was of purest marble 



CITIES OF THE RAJAHS 


143 



THE TAJ MAHAL 


and mortar. Walking toward it, the children 
realized that the marble was inlaid with prec¬ 
ious stones to form flowers, leaves, and branches. 
Every flower petal, every stem, every leaf was 
worked out with exquisite care. The flowers of 
the garden had been immortalized in marble. 

W T ithin the Taj Mahal there appeared the 
same lovely inlaid walls, the figures smaller than 
those on the outside and even more delicately 
wrought. Peter and Nancy stared in wonder 
at the two sarcophagi of white marble with their 
beautiful, frail-appearing flowers. The two white 






144 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


caskets were no more wonderful than the pure 
white stone screen within which they stood. No 
matter where they went later or what they saw, 
Peter and Nancy were never to forget the daz¬ 
zling whiteness of the marble, the delicate beauty 
of the colored inlaid flowers, or the perfect archi¬ 
tecture that had made of domes and minarets an 
unforgettable beauty. 

“Strange that the most appealing structure in 
an Indian city should not have been built by an 
Indian,” Uncle Lee mused as he strolled with 
Peter and Nancy along the canal. 

“It was erected by Shah Jahan as a burial 
place for his wife, wasn’t it?” Peter spoke up. 

“Who was Shah Jahan?” Nancy inquired. 

“He was of a race of Tartars from Turkestan 
who came down through Afghanistan to conquer 
the country,” Uncle Lee explained. “Not all 
conquerors bring complete disaster. Shah Jahan 
built palaces and mosques worthy of the best. It 
is said that he employed the finest artists of Asia 
and Europe to design the Taj Mahal. He em¬ 
ployed 20,000 workmen seventeen years and 
spent $20,000,000 on it. But he created some¬ 
thing that will live, I hope, for countless ages. 
It has been fitly called a 'poem in stone.’ ” 

“The Taj Mahal is on the Jumna River, and 
you’ll see the Jumna River again in Delhi,” 
Uncle Lee continued. 

“King George V of Great Britain decided to 
change the capital of India from Calcutta to 



CITIES OF THE RAJAHS 


145 


Delhi when he visited here in 1911. Delhi is 
near the center of the Ganges Plain, and is more 
easily reached than Calcutta by the country as 
a whole. Delhi is cool and comfortable in win¬ 
ter, but hot in summer. The government officials 
then move up to Simla, a beautiful mountainous 
city in the Himalayas, and stay there until falL ,> 

“Good thing there are mountains in India,” 
Peter remarked. 

“Especially for foreigners who are not used 
to the climate,” Uncle Lee added. “Every pro¬ 
vince of India has what is known as its ‘Hill Sta¬ 
tion/ a summer resort where missionaries, gov¬ 
ernment officials, and tourists can be comfortable. 
I hardly think the British would have been so 
successful in India if they had not had these 
mountain stations. Geography is important, even 
in politics.” 

When they arrived in New Delhi, as the capi¬ 
tal is called, the MacLarens saw a thriving city 
of temples, bazaars, and palaces. Against the 
deep blue sky rose domes of mosques and towers 
of minarets. Peter and Nancy visited so many 
ruins that they were not surprised to learn from 
Uncle Lee that Delhi had been a capital seven 
times. The most famous capital had been estab¬ 
lished by the Mogul emperors. Uncle Lee said 
that he hoped the British influence would last 
longer even than the Mogul empire. 

The flame-of-the-woods, shrubs bearing showy, 
scarlet flowers, were in bloom in the yard of the 



146 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

A POTTERY WORKER IN THE BAZAAR AT DELHI 

pension or boardinghouse where Uncle Lee took 
Peter and Nancy. There were lilacs, too, smell¬ 
ing so sweet that they made the children home¬ 
sick. In the crowded musty bazaars Peter and 
Nancy were glad to think of the refreshing lilacs. 

“There’s one place just outside the city we 
must visit,” Uncle Lee announced one morning. 
Every tourist goes there.” 

“We go,” Peter declared, “not as tourists; we 
go as geographers — even if Uncle Lee doesn’t 
spend much time writing.” 

“I’m depending upon your memories,” said 
Uncle Lee, “and on my notebook. Besides I feel 



CITIES OF THE RAJAHS 


147 


lazy in this heat. When we get up into Tibet 
and Mongolia, I’ll make up for lost time.” 

A seven-mile drive in a car brought the Mac- 
Larens to the famous Kartub Tower, a minaret, 
all that was left of what must have been a won¬ 
derful mosque. The tower was extremely tall 
and conical in shape. From the top of it, the 
ashes of all seven of the capitals that had once 
stood on the plain below could be seen. 

“The eighth should be best,” Peter declared, 
which showed, Uncle Lee said, that Peter was 
not superstitious. He would not fear to raise 
cities on the graves of other cities. 

A fifteen-foot bronze pillar belonging to the 
long ago stood in the center of the mosque ruins. 

“The natives say,” Uncle Lee explained, “that 
if one stands with his back against the pillar 
and can make his fingers touch on the other 
side, he may have whatever he desires.” 

Nancy made the effort and knew immediately 
that it was no use. Peter attempted it, making 
desperate, wriggling attempts. Even the sober, 
white-turbaned guides laughed outright. 

“You try, Uncle Lee,” Nancy begged. 

Uncle Lee had long arms. Without half try¬ 
ing, so he said, he succeeded in making his fingers 
meet—just meet. 

“What did you wish, Uncle Lee?” Peter asked. 

“I wished,” he said, “something that I may 
regret. I wished Jimmy Dustin would fly us 
into Tibet.” 



THE LAMA COUNTRY 


O NE day, out of a clear sky, an airplane 
descended, a familiar airplane piloted by 
Jimmy Dustin. The little party flew to Srinagar 
in the Vale of Kashmir intending to join a small 
caravan journeying to Leh, the capital of Lad¬ 
akh on the upper part of the Indus River. Jimmy 
agreed that later he would pick the MacLarens 
up in Leh and take them on to Lhasa, the capital 
of Tibet which was forbidden to foreigners. 

“The doors of Lhasa may be closed, but the 
sky is open/’ Jimmy remarked. 

“Uncle Lee gets his wish,” observed Peter. 
Kashmir from the sky was a sea of green, its 
rice paddies banked by snowcapped mountains. 
A closer view gave a vision of dark pines and 
walnut trees. As it was May, the hillsides were 
white with pear blossoms. Poppies and roses 
were almost as profuse as irises. Although the 
days were hot, the evenings were cool, and the 
MacLarens were prepared to enjoy themselves 
in this flowery paradise. The plane descended 
just outside the capital city of Srinagar. 

While Jimmy arranged to have his plane 
guarded, the MacLarens walked into the city. 
They felt almost as though they were in Venice. 
The picturesque city was divided into two parts 
by the River Jhelum, across which seven bridges 
148 


THE LAMA COUNTRY 


149 



Ewing Galloway 


SILK COCOONS DRYING IN THE SUN 

had been built. The MacLarens soon found that 
this Venice in the Vale of Kashmir used its 
canals as streets and that gondolas glided be¬ 
tween banks shaded by walnut trees. Quaint 
houses and lovely Hindu shrines were reflected 
in the still water. 

The MacLarens settled down for a short stay 
in a hotel in Srinagar. They were surprised to 
learn that the production and weaving of silk 
was the most thriving industry in Kashmir, and 
spent a great deal of time observing the many 
interesting stages of this work. 





150 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE MAHARAJAH’S ACTORS 

One day at sunset Uncle Lee took Peter and 
Nancy through the Dal Lake to the gates of 
Shalimar, the beautiful garden built by a Mon¬ 
gol emperor for his queen. The lotus-covered 
lake was lovely indeed, but the garden of sweet 
flowers and plashing fountains was even lovelier. 

On another day they saw the Maharajah's 
troupe of actors in full dress costume, mounted 
on the royal elephants. 

And now the trip to Leh was at hand. The 
MacLarens followed the mountain trail, riding 
sturdy little Tibetan ponies and taking with 





THE LAMA COUNTRY 


151 


them native guides who spoke imperfect Eng¬ 
lish. It was one of the most inspiring though 
difficult of all their journeys. All about them 
were snowy pinnacles, and once out of the Vale 
of Kashmir, they rode into desolate country. In 
many places there was not a single tree, a blade 
of grass, or a flower to relieve the rocky monot¬ 
ony. There were beautifully streaked rock for¬ 
mations in brilliant colors. 

As the MacLarens continued their journey 
they saw many ancient deserted castles in the 
mountains. These citadels belonged to another 
age. Fragments of shale were constantly slid¬ 
ing down into the Indus River, and the travelers 
were very happy when they reached Leh, and 
were safe from the rocky, slippery mountain paths. 

In Leh there was a main street lined with 
poplar trees, and there was the usual bazaar with 
its tiny shops opening onto the street. The old 
stone huts were for the most part in bad repair. 
Close to Tibet and Russia, this city contained an 
odd assortment of peoples. To the MacLarens the 
natives proved most interesting. 

In Leh, also, there was a great lama monas¬ 
tery. Uncle Lee said that the books in the mon¬ 
astery were all religious books, made of blocks of 
wood or cardboard. Education in northern India 
and Tibet, Peter and Nancy learned, was confined 
almost entirely to the priests or lamas who did 
little but study and meditate. 

And now Jimmy Dustin was in Leh, helping 



152 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE WIFE OF A TIBETAN MILITARY OFFICER 
WITH HER SERVANTS 

plan the trip to Lhasa, the city that had closed 
its doors against all foreigners. Peter was all 
for making the trip by yak caravan, but Uncle 
Lee said it would be too dangerous. He told of 
one white woman who had entered Lhasa, but 
she had made the perilous journey in the com¬ 
pany of a lama with her face colored brown, her 
hair and clothes untidy, and her feet clad in 
crude felt boots. She lived on brick tea, rancid 
butter, and barley meal, and she suffered ex¬ 
tremely from cold and exposure. 




THE LAMA COUNTRY 


153 


Jimmy Dustin’s plane purposely took the Mac- 
Larens across the most desolate part of Tibet, 
the great northern plateau or tableland. It was 
a part of the country Jimmy felt geographers 
should know, since it was the great elevated 
tract of land that separated Tibet from the rest of 
the world. The average altitude was 14,000 
feet, and there were mountain ranges running 
across this rugged tableland. Salt lakes were 
not infrequent. Wild yaks and antelope were 
the only animals that could graze on the short 
bunch grass. The air was cold and dry, and the 
trip was not pleasant. 

In this highest land in the world the Mac- 
Larens came upon their first Tibetan village 
where they stopped for the night. It was a small 
village, its huts and caves upon a cliff, with the 
gompa, or lama monastery, on the very brink of 
a chasm. 

“Just what is a lama, Uncle Lee?” Nancy 
inquired. “I know a gompa is the building in 
which he lives.” 

“The lamas are priests of the Buddhist faith, 
Nancy,” Uncle Lee explained. “They are very 
numerous in Tibet. One-third of the population 
of Lhasa, for example, is made up of priests. 
The Great Lama dwells in the Potala, a temple 
outside the city. He is often a young boy, sup¬ 
posed to have the spirit of Buddha within him.” 

Uncle Lee’s explanation was interrupted by 
several native men in rough, gray woolen gar- 



154 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


merits who came to meet the party. Their eyes 
had what Uncle Lee called the Mongoloid fold. 
Their lips were thick, their cheekbones prom¬ 
inent, and their hair black and wooly. 

“Look at the jewelry!” Peter exclaimed. 

“What turquoise!” Nancy whispered. “No 
matter how poor or shabby they may be they 
certainly wear a good deal of it.” 

It was true. The men wore great silver ear 
loops and turquoise necklaces, and even the shab¬ 
biest boasted a few bracelets. 

Peter and Nancy often had seen yellow-robed 
priests, but they never before had seen red-robed 
priests. They appeared by the dozens from the 
monasteries. Uncle Lee and the children were 
made welcome at the meal spread out on a long 
wooden table. There was the usual brick tea 
served with barley meal and rancid butter. This 
“buttered tea,” the MacLarens learned, was the 
staple diet of most Tibetans. Often wheat, 
beans, or peas were substituted for barley and 
mixed with tea. The natives kneaded the mush 
into balls and ate them with their fingers. The 
most common dish everywhere was tea soup, 
which was just a broth of brick tea, yak butter, 
barley meal, and water. 

While Peter and Nancy rested, Uncle Lee 
made a tour of the monastery. He told them 
afterward that he had beheld the gold and bronze 
images of Buddha in a room decorated with 
horrible demons. He said that although the 



THE LAMA COUNTRY 


155 



Ewing Galloway 

“BUTTERED TEA” IS THE DIET OF MOST TIBETANS 


lamas were very poor, he saw them making of¬ 
ferings of oil and grain before the god. 

“A young lama gave several prayer wheels a 
good spin,” Uncle Lee continued. “That means 
that all the prayers contained in the wheel were 
wafted up to Buddha for him. Notice the little 
prayer flags on the houses? Buddhists believe 
that in this mechanical way, by the turning of 
a wheel or the fluttering of the wind, prayers may 
be sent to heaven. Enough prayers will save 
your soul. It does not matter so much how you 
live.” 



156 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Uncle Lee took the children to call on the 
family of the innkeeper. The innkeeper’s wife 
was an astounding person. Her matted hair was 
braided, and over it she wore a magnificent head¬ 
dress that came to a point down over her fore¬ 
head and fell behind to her waist. It was set 
with turquoise and represented not only all her 
wealth but the inherited wealth of her ancestors. 
She wore dark woolen clothes, none too clean. 
Uncle Lee said the natives often wore their 
clothes until they fell off in shreds. 

There was a prayer wheel at the corner of the 
simple house and cloth prayer flags on the roof. 

“The most popular prayer is, “Om mani padne 
om , Om mani padne om” said Uncle Lee, “which 
means, ‘0 thou jewel in the heart of the heart of 
the lotus flower.’ ” 

“I shouldn’t call that a prayer,” Nancy com¬ 
mented. 

“In a lotus flower,” Uncle Lee explained, “there 
is always a single drop of pure water. It is the 
purest thing man knows and the Tibetan feels 
that to.call Buddha such a name should win his 
grace.” 

More and more Peter and Nancy realized that 
Tibet was a country dominated by religion. 
On the outskirts of the village was the town 
wall. This wall was built of stone and was at 
least a mile long and thirty feet broad. On top 
of the wall had been placed queer-shaped little 
prayer stones. There were hundreds and hun- 



THE LAMA COUNTRY 


157 


dreds of them. Such a wall, Uncle Lee said, 
would, according to the Tibetan belief, keep evil 
spirits out of the town. 

On a walk out into the desolate country the 
MacLarens came upon many hollow piles of 
stones, five to twenty feet high. 

“These chortens,” Uncle Lee explained, “are 
really monuments.” 

He reached inside one of the bigger chortens 
and brought out a miniature chorten no bigger 
than a flower pot, and looking much like one. 

“This,” he said in all seriousness, “is what 
remains of a lama.” 

At Nancy’s horrified gaze he explained that 
the larger chortens are frequently used as vaults 
in which the bones of lamas, after being cre¬ 
mated, are ground and mixed with clay to make 
smaller chortens. 

“Please put the poor lama down,” Nancy 
begged, but Peter took it from his uncle and 
examined it curiously. 

Late the next day the MacLarens started on 
in Jimmy’s plane. As night came on they spied 
a group of black tents and the glow of a camp¬ 
fire. For some time now the engine had been 
sputtering. 

“We’re going to land,” Uncle Lee announced. 

“In forbidden country?” Nancy asked. 

“Airplanes haven’t any respect for forbidden 
country,” Peter declared and added, “I’m glad 
of it. This is going to be one real adventure.” 



TIBETAN HIGHLANDS AND A HINDU 
PROVINCE 


T HE first reaction of the MacLarens as the 
plane grounded was one of relief, followed 
by apprehension. Peter ran toward a boy of his 
own age, using the universal sign language. The 
boy smiled, then stuck out his tongue at Peter. 
A small girl, looking at Nancy, did likewise. A 
man in a single rough sheepskin garment tied 
in the middle shouted, “Philing! Meg kar!” 

“Philing means white people,” Uncle Lee in¬ 
terpreted. i( Meg kar means white eyes, a com¬ 
mon epithet of abuse for foreigners. I hardly 
think we are welcome except, perhaps, to the 
children.” 

“Anyway,” Nancy said, as she walked beside 
Uncle Lee, “the children have stopped sticking 
out their tongues at us.” 

“I wish the grown people would stick out their 
tongues at us,” Uncle Lee said. “IPs the Tibetan 
way of saying welcome.” 

“Why do they call us white eyes? We haven’t 
white eyes,” Nancy protested. 

“Tibetans see no beauty in blue or gray eyes,” 
Uncle Lee explained. “They call fair hair gray 
hair, which they consider ugly. It’s unfortu¬ 
nate that we need their help. Usually the peas¬ 
ants are hospitable and kind. Tibet hasn’t always 

158 


TIBETAN HIGHLANDS 


159 



Acme 


THE TIBETANS DEPEND ON THE YAK 
FOR MANY THINGS 

been closed to foreigners, you know. By the 
way, Tibet is a word unknown in the Tibetan lan¬ 
guage. The natives called their country Bod . 
Wish I knew more of the language than I do. 
Don’t like the way they’re hanging back.... Fine 
herd of yaks!” 

Uncle Lee went forward and conferred with 
two very sober-looking natives, while Peter and 
Nancy looked at the yaks. They are the animals 
without which, so Jimmy declared, the country 






160 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


would be naught. He said the natives depended 
on the yaks for transportation, skins, meat, milk, 
and butter. 

While Jimmy walked away to look for help, 
Peter and Nancy watched a great yak that was 
grazing near by. He was not as tall as an ox, 
but he was as big and heavy. He had a short 
head and neck and short legs. Peter pronounced 
him a very compact animal. His horns were big 
and somewhat flattened. The queerest thing 
about him was a hump on his shoulders of great 
soft fur in a bunch. In addition to the fur on 
his hump, there was a thick coat of long, silky 
hair all over his body, and a long flowing tail. 

Jimmy Dustin came running up with a shout. 

“There’s a Tibetan farmhouse not far off,” he 
cried. “Thank the nomads for their hospitality 
and follow me.” 

As the MacLarens started toward the farm¬ 
house, the nomads called out pleasantly, “Kale 
pheb.” 

“Kale jii” Uncle Lee returned. 

To Peter and Nancy he explained, “Kale pheb 
means go slowly and kale jii means stay or sit 
slowly.” 

Jimmy declared that the Tibetan farmhouse 
in which they were welcomed was typical. The 
lower floor was a stable, and the family lived 
above. In the sooty kitchen the MacLarens 
looked about. There was a thick layer of dust 
everywhere. The rough floor was spotted with 



TIBETAN HIGHLANDS 


161 


the grease of soup and butter. Since there were 
no windows, the smoke found its way out through 
the light hole and also through a gap between 
the top of the wall and the roof. All around the 
room were boxes and bags holding supplies, but 
no chairs and tables. 

There was yak meat for supper, boiling in a 
huge caldron held by a large iron tripod. Nancy 
was astounded to see the hostess cut the meat 
on her lap. The MacLarens and Jimmy were 
served bountifully. Then the men got down their 
bowls from the shelf—it seemed each person 
had his own bowl — and began to eat. 

To Peter and Nancy the food tasted really 
good. Uncle Lee had produced spoons for them 
from a kit Jimmy carried. 

And now darkness was filling the already dim 
kitchen and into the brazier in the middle of the 
floor a woman threw some shavings of a resin¬ 
ous wood. The smoke was annoying only to 
Jimmy and the MacLarens. Uncle Lee diplo¬ 
matically suggested that it was bedtime. 

Nancy slept on the roof terrace with two native 
girls who gave her a small piece of carpet on 
which to lie. The carpet was short, and as it 
grew cold toward morning, she tried to creep 
under it. 

At breakfast Jimmy said, “Most Tibetan farm¬ 
ers sleep doubled up on the floor like dogs. To 
stretch out is a quality-class luxury.” 

Water had been added to the soup of the night 




162 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


before, but Uncle Lee’s party was served tea 
crushed into hot water with salt and butter and 
thickened with tsamba, or barley meal. Peter 
and Nancy had learned by this time to roll the 
tsamba into balls with their fingers and to eat it 
like the natives. 

It was while the little party was still at the 
farmhouse that an anchorite or hermit came to 
beg. Jimmy learned that he lived in a cave high 
up in the Himalayas and that he practiced 

thumo reskiang. 

“That means he can keep himself warm with¬ 
out fire or heavy clothing,” Jimmy explained. 

Peter and Nancy laughed until Uncle Lee 
added that this was no matter of religious faith 
but a scientific method for producing internal 
heat. 

Jimmy had made the airplane repairs and the 
little party said good-by to the hospitable Tibetan 
farmers. 

The plane pointed toward Lhasa in the very 
heart of Tibet. Lhasa was 11,000 feet above sea 
level, Jimmy said, which was much more than 
a mile higher than Denver, Colorado. It lay in 
a plain called the Plain of Milk. None of the 
party could see any reason for the name, since 
the Plain of Milk was mostly swamp. 

Lhasa from the air looked like a city of palaces 
and hovels. Several times Peter and Nancy ex¬ 
claimed at golden roofs. Uncle Lee said they 
really were washed with gold. 



TIBETAN HIGHLANDS 


163 



Ewing Galloway 

THE PALACE OF THE GREAT LAMA 

Out a short distance from the city stood the 
Potala where the Great Lama dwelt. It was 
600 feet long and looked more like a fortification 
than a temple. This great building, which is one 
of the most picturesque of the world, housed the 
servants and the many priests of the Buddhist 
order. Uncle Lee said that many of these per¬ 
sonages were clad in shining yellow satin, dark 
red cloth, and gold brocade. On most of the nar¬ 
row streets below trudged pilgrims, traders, and 
civilians. The most common form of travel 
seemed to be by yak caravan, although the chil¬ 
dren did catch glimpses of motor cars. 

With this brief view, the plane sped south. 





164 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Wide World Photos 

THEY SAW AN EXPLORER’S CAMP FAR BELOW 
ON THE BARE PLAIN 

Now there were more lofty, snowy peaks and 
the valleys were white with frost. Were those 
mystic anchorites who lived on the frozen sum¬ 
mits really keeping warmth within their bodies? 

The great tableland now swam in purple and 
orange hues, lifting up queerly-shaped caps of 
snow. Once they saw an explorer’s camp far 
below, a speck on the vast, bare plain. 

“Believe it or not,” spoke up Uncle Lee as he 
looked down on all this coldness, “there are a 
number of hot springs all over Tibet.” 

The land looked like a rock and snow forest, 
the only signs of life the rich embroidery of 
lichens on the queer stone formations below. 




TIBETAN HIGHLANDS 


165 


Cold waterfalls, half-frozen lakes, and giant glac¬ 
iers added to the effect of intense cold. 

The plane roared on, and now dwarfed trees 
appeared, trees that might have reached giant 
stature had it not been for the rarified air. 

The plane continued south, swinging lower and 
lower. The country was rapidly changing. It 
became tropical. 

“Down there," Jimmy shouted, “you'll find 
wild orchards, singing birds, and enough fireflies 
to light your home." 

Jimmy landed in a little village in Bhutan. 
A group of men and women came to greet the 
MacLarens as they stepped out of the plane. 
These people looked much like the Tibetans. They 
had high cheekbones, copper skins, and the men 
were as beardless as American Indians. The 
women wore their fortunes on their persons, vast 
amounts of coral, turquoise, and silver and gold 
jewelry. Several women wore earrings so heavy 
that the lobes of their ears had been elongated 
by the constant pull. 

“If anything, they are darker than the Tibet¬ 
ans," Nancy whispered to Uncle Lee. “Not a 
philing among them — nor any meg kar!” 

“They've assisted nature," teased Uncle Lee, 
“as women have done from the beginning. They 
paint their faces with a sort of brown varnish." 

“Who owns this country of Bhutan?" Peter in¬ 
quired. “From the looks of the officers coming 
this way, we're in a British possession." 



166 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


“Good guess, Peter,” said Uncle Lee. “Bhutan 
is an independent state, like Nepal, but under 
British control. The capital is Punaka, but most 
of the trade is carried on through Darjeeling in 
India. It’s not far away. These hillbillies are 
good farmers and know how to market their pro¬ 
duce.” 

“They look prosperous, if turquoise is any in¬ 
dication of wealth,” Nancy observed. “Wonder 
why they prize it so.” 

“Because,” Jimmy answered soberly, “it keeps 
away the evil eye. To wear it brings one good 
luck. I hope we have the good luck to reach Dar¬ 
jeeling before nightfall.” 



THE LAND OF TEAK AND RICE 
AND RUBIES 


T HE little hill city of Darjeeling, a mile and a 
half above sea level in northern India, was 
delightful. The snowcapped Himalayas were vis¬ 
ible above. 

“How far away is Mt. Everest?” Peter in¬ 
quired, his eyes wide and shining. 

“Perhaps 150 miles,” Uncle Lee replied. 
“Across Nepal.” 

“Now we’ll see it,” Nancy spoke up. “Maybe 
that misty shadow away off there is Mt. Everest.” 
“And maybe not,” Peter answered. 

“Mt. Everest is the last great adventure left,” 
said Uncle Lee. “No one has ever climbed to the 
top. The air is so thin that not even the strongest 
men can exert themselves in it, and the ice never 
melts. 

“There would be plenty to see in Nepal, if we 
had time to visit it,” Uncle Lee continued. “It 
isn’t often that outsiders are allowed in that 
country. The people of Nepal became independ¬ 
ent in 1923 through treaty with Great Britain. 
Nepal is a pretty lively kingdom.” 

“How big?” Peter inquired. 

“How big?” Uncle Lee repeated. “It is 569 
miles long and not more than 150 miles wide. 
Now why not ask how high?” 

167 


168 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



“HI ask it!” Nancy cried. “How high? You'll 
say as high as Mt. Everest, I know.” 

“You're too bright altogether,” Uncle Lee 


Ewing Galloway 

ONE OF THE GREAT GLACIERS ON MT. EVEREST 





LAND OF TEAK AND RICE AND RUBIES 


169 


scowled at Nancy, then grinned. “Everest is 
about 29,000 feet above sea level.” 

Next morning they went to Tiger Hill to 
watch the dawn upon the great mountain. First 
a faint color appeared, then the golden disk of 
the sun seemed to shoot up suddenly, like a great 
ball of fire. The sky became flooded with a bril¬ 
liant color, against which the great peak was 
outlined. As the sun rose higher the mountain 
ranges slowly appeared jaggedly against the sky. 
Gradually the shadows were dispelled like mists, 
until the scene became just mountains and val¬ 
leys. But the spell of the gorgeous coloring at 
dawn, with the mountain peaks emerging from 
the darkness of the night, stayed with the Mac- 
Larens as one of the most beautiful memories of 
all their travels. 

Back in the hotel in Darjeeling they heard 
travelers talk of tiger and rhino hunts. 

“Elephants!” Peter exulted. “Are we going 
to ride elephants?” 

Uncle Lee looked at Nancy, a question in his 
bright blue eyes. 

“I’d like to,” Nancy insisted stoutly. 

“As a matter of fact, we were invited to join 
in a tiger hunt. That would be the maddest adven¬ 
ture I’ve ever attempted with you youngsters.” 

Peter’s look of disappointment made Uncle Lee 
smile. 

“However, we’ll have a ride on an elephant 
this afternoon,” he added. 



170 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

RIDING ELEPHANTS OF INDIA 


An elephant bearing a saddle! Nancy admired 
the beautifully embroidered silk cloth which cov¬ 
ered the cushion and the wooden framework. 
She was delighted to find that the saddle had a 
fringed canopy which protects the riders from 
the hot sun. 

The driver brought a ladder and the Mac- 
Larens climbed into the howdah , as the saddle 
and canopy are called. The elephant moved pon¬ 
derously away, guided by the driver who sat on 
his neck and pulled the long ears of the animal. 

Back in the hotel Uncle Lee reminded Peter 
and Nancy that on the southern slopes of the 
mountains, bordering on the basin of the Brah¬ 
maputra River, were located the great tea plan¬ 
tations. The region was known as Assam. 






LAND OF TEAK AND RICE AND RUBIES 


171 


“Enjoy the coolness of Darjeeling while you 
may,” Uncle Lee advised. “We’ll soon be get¬ 
ting back into jungle heat. Although the rainy 
season is over, Burma is always warm, except 
up in the mountains.” 

Jimmy Dustin remained with the MacLarens 
in the pleasant hill city awaiting a British offi¬ 
cial, and it was Jimmy who saw them off on the 
little train that was to carry them down to sea 
level. 

The train descended along many curves and 
through a succession of rapidly changing scenes. 
There were the great mountain trees covered 
with moss that made them shine like silver. 
There were tree ferns and colorful orchids hang¬ 
ing down from the luxuriant growth. Then the 
jungle itself was there, with twisting vines and 
curious plants, and at last Peter and Nancy saw, 
out of the car window, the tropical plains with 
their bamboo and banyan trees. The climate 
had changed, too, very rapidly. The air was 
muggy. 

Calcutta, of course, was familiar, and Peter 
and Nancy drowsed in the great railway sta¬ 
tion while Uncle Lee bought tickets to travel by 
boat down the Bay of Bengal and along the west 
coast of Burma to Rangoon. 

There were many Burmese on board the boat. 
Peter and Nancy could not take their eyes off 
one couple, evidently wealthy. They had yellow- 
brown complexions, which was to be expected, 



172 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


since, as Uncle Lee said, they belonged to the 
yellow race. Their eyes, however, did not slant 
a great deal. In fact, they were almost straight. 
But their noses were flat and their lips slightly 
thicker than those of white people. The woman, 
dressed in bright-colored silk with a white silk 
jacket, wore in each ear a gold plug set with 
rubies. The plug had been inserted in the ear 
through a hole in the lobe. The man wore a 
large turban of bright yellow, a white jacket 
that reached to his waist, and a skirt that Uncle 
Lee said was made of a strip of cloth ten yards 
long. Both the man and the woman had long 
hair, bound up in knots on the tops of their heads. 
Peter saw that when the man removed his tur¬ 
ban to adjust it. The woman wore no hat. 

One of the half-naked boy workers on the boa.t 
had elaborately tattooed arms and legs. Snakes, 
flowers, and scrolls were all symbolical, Uncle 
Lee said, acting as charms against bad luck. The 
boy proudly displayed his tattooing, which was 
not surprising, as he must have suffered a great 
deal while the figures were being made. 

“Boyhood isn’t so easy in Burma,” Uncle Lee 
observed after the boy had departed along the 
deck on his bare feet. “The Burmese are Bud¬ 
dhists and you’ll see a good many yellow-robed 
monks everywhere in Burma. Some of the yel¬ 
low-clad Buddhists will seem very young to you. 
The parents believe that a son must become a 
monk before his soul can be born. Therefore he 



LAND OF TEAK AND RICE AND RUBIES 


173 


must work as a servant, or chela, in a monas¬ 
tery for a time. No matter how rich his family 
may be, he must -beg for his living and must 
study the life of Buddha. He holds out a bowl 
to passers-by, although he may say no word of 
complaint concerning his lot. Many of the Bur¬ 
mese boys remain in the monasteries, but most 
of them go back to the farms, the mines, the 
forests, and the sea.” 

“They look intelligent,” Nancy whispered, gaz¬ 
ing about shyly from her deck chair at the little 
Burmese girls dressed like their mothers. “There 
seem already to be more smiles here than in 
other parts of India.” 

“Burma,” Uncle Lee continued, “has just been 
given a constitution and is now a'self-governing 
country. It is no longer a part of India. But 
Great Britain has done much for Burma. Besides 
the native schools, which teach mostly moral pre¬ 
cepts, there are many British public schools, and 
not for boys alone either. Girls’ schools are com¬ 
ing into fashion. You’ll seldom find a Burmese 
who cannot read and write. Burma is a big 
country to educate, too. It’s larger than France, 
and it extends from where it joins the highlands 
of Tibet southward to the Bay of Bengal. It 
has extremely rich fields, as the rivers run down 
from the Himalayas bringing plenty of silt.” 

“How many rivers are there?” Peter asked. 
“Of course I know about the Irrawaddy. We’re 
getting close to it now.” 



174 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


“The Irrawaddy is the most important, per¬ 
haps.” Uncle Lee looked thoughtful. “There 
is another river, however, worth remembering. 
It’s called the Salween River, and it rises in 
Tibet, north of Lhasa. It comes hurtling down 
with many rapids to the Martaban Gulf.” 

A British gentleman who had been convers¬ 
ing with Uncle Lee brought out a billfold and 
took from it a tiny packet. He opened the packet 
to show the MacLaren children a jewel that 
shone like red fire. 

“A pigeon’s-blood ruby from Mogok in Burma,” 
he declared. “Worth five times as much as a 
diamond that size. By the way, a large part of 
the rubies of the world come from Burma.” 

“Where are rubies found?” Peter asked. “In 
rock?” 

“In gravel, below the surface dirt and clay,” 
the British gentleman explained. “The gravel 
is washed and the rubies sink to the bottom. 
There is no lovelier gem.” 

“A traveler would think,” Nancy observed, 
looking out at the numerous richly growing rice 
fields as the boat entered the river, “that Burma 
would be noted for its rice.” 

“It exports rice — plenty of it,” the gentleman 
said. “I hope your uncle will take you into the 
forests and show you the big teak and rubber 
trees. The teak is a very beautiful tree, rising 
to a great height. It's great fun to watch the 
elephants load the heavy teak logs on bamboo 



LAND OF TEAK AND RICE AND RUBIES 


175 


rafts to float them. There’s rosewood and iron- 
wood in the forests, too, but teak is the most im¬ 
portant. You’ll find gold, silver, copper, and 
jade in the mines. Plenty of petroleum here, 
too. It is a very rich country.” 

And now the boat was sailing up the Irra¬ 
waddy River toward Rangoon. Peter stared at 
the muddy water, trying to imagine the river 
as it rose in the snowy Himalayas and wound 
through gorges and hills into the broad valley 
before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. 

Uncle Lee remarked that although Rangoon 
had over one-third of a million people, and Man¬ 
dalay, which was just a night’s ride by train 
further up the Irrawaddy, was half as big, Bur¬ 
ma was really a country of villages. 

Nancy stared at the little houses. They were 
built upon stilts, a necessary precaution against 
high water in the rainy season. 

Uncle Lee had said that Burma was a country 
of temples, pagodas, and monasteries; but Peter 
and Nancy were amazed at the number of these 
in Rangoon. They could hardly wait to finish 
their first meal at the native hotel before they 
started out exploring. The food was good. There 
were platters of rice, bowls of curry, fried fish, 
tea, and for dessert an assortment of mangoes, 
bananas, and pineapples. 

“Not much of a chance to starve,” Peter ob¬ 
served as he stuffed some of the fruit into his 
pockets. “For the chelas,” he explained. 



176 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



The life of Rangoon seemed to flow toward the 
docks, and it was easy to see that Rangoon was 
the seaport of Burma. In its harbor lay ships 
floating the flags of almost every land. From 
the docks little brown men loaded rice, lumber, 
and petroleum onto the ships. 

Peter wanted to spend all his time in Rangoon 
watching the elephants in the lumberyard pile 
teak logs. These strong, dependable animals, 
each with a single rider on his back, seemed 
almost human in their ability to understand com¬ 
mands. If the log were too heavy, an elephant 
would wait for another to help drag it. It was 
only when Uncle Lee accused Peter of being a 


Ewing Galloway 
A BURMESE ELEPHANT AT WORK 







LAND OF TEAK AND RICE AND RUBIES 


177 


typical tourist, not a geographer at all, that he 
was persuaded to leave the much-advertised Ran¬ 
goon elephants. 

The streets of Rangoon were for the most part 
wide and attractive. Since Uncle Lee’s visit 
years before, many modern buildings had been 
erected. Automobiles were common. The women 
in their pretty silks with their gay parasols 
still smoked cheroots, so Uncle Lee observed; and 
it was not uncommon to see small boys smoking 
openly with apparent approval of their elders. 

Peter was fascinated by the boys of his own 
age that he met on the street, especially the boys 
in the yellow robes of the chela. So often did he 
contribute to the begging bowls they carried 
that Uncle Lee had to warn him that his spend¬ 
ing money would give out. 

The MacLarens spent one entire morning view¬ 
ing the Golden Pagoda in Rangoon. In the 
bright sunlight, the giant pagoda seemed like a 
part of the sun’s blaze. It rose from a great 
stone platform, in elaborate form at first, then 
climbing up, rung upon rung, in circular form, 
until it ended in a golden spire that looked as 
though it were trying to reach the sun itself. 

“It looks like solid gold,” Peter declared, 
amazed by the sight. “And that golden umbrella 
on top, studded with real jewels, is like a queen’s 
crown.” 

“Is it real gold, Uncle Lee?” Nancy inquired. 

“There must be a good deal of gold on it,” 



178 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE GOLDEN PAGODA 

Uncle Lee decided. “It’s been plated and gilded 
over time and time again. It stands on the site 
of a temple built 500 years before Christ was 
born.” 

“It must be considered sacred,” Nancy guessed. 








LAND OF TEAK AND RICE AND RUBIES 


179 


“All those women in their bright silks are kneel¬ 
ing and praying before it and offering rice and 
flowers on the platform! All those little boys 
are praying, too! All those serious men and 
interested monks are raising their hands up to 
it. So many roses have been laid on the base 
that the entire pagoda seemed to be perfumed.” 

“The Golden Pagoda, so the Burmese believe, 
is built above a casket containing eight hairs from 
the head of Buddha,” said Uncle Lee. 

“Well, Buddha gave them a happy religion,” 
Peter conceded. “Lots of happy faces in Burma.” 

“Buddha taught them all the law of kindness,” 
Uncle Lee said simply. “Being kind evidently 
makes for happiness.” 



A CITY OF GOLDEN SPIRES 


T HE MacLarens flew from Rangoon, landing 
on the Gulf of Siam at the mouth of the 
Menam River. They boarded a boat that was 
making the trip to Bangkok. As the three trav¬ 
elers settled into their deck chairs, Uncle Lee 
passed a letter to Nancy. 

“Notice the postage stamp,” he invited. “It’s 
a Siamese air-mail stamp. The enclosed letter, 
by the way, assures us of accommodations at a 
Bangkok hotel. What do you think of the 
stamp?” 

“The figure is queer,” Nancy observed. “IBs 
half man and half bird.” 

“IBs the Garuda,” Uncle Lee explained, “the 
mythical steed of Vishnu in Hindu legend. You’ll 
find the Garuda as common in Siam as the eagle 
is in the United States. Why do you suppose 
I wanted you to study it?” 

“Well,” Peter put in, “I suppose wings always 
mean rising higher, getting somewhere, improv¬ 
ing!” 

“Peter has left nothing for me to add,” Nancy 
complained, “except that I have a lot of admira¬ 
tion for anyone who will try to get ahead in this 
hot climate.” 

Then Nancy glanced up. At the river's mouth 
stood an island temple. Uncle Lee said it was 


180 


A CITY OF GOLDEN SPIRES 


181 



Empire 

THE ENTRANCE TO A SIAMESE TEMPLE 


typically Siamese. The walls of the temple were 
white, but the roofs were what made the temple 
distinctive. Multiple roofs, they were, made of 
gaily colored tiles that overlapped in a quaint, 
appealing manner. The gables were decorated in 
elaborate relief, but what delighted Peter most 
were the many corners of the roofs from which 
mythical serpents reared their heads. Behind 
the temple a graceful spire rose against the clear 
blue of the sky. Nancy caught her breath in 
delight. 

“Twenty miles to Bangkok!” Uncle Lee an¬ 
nounced. 






182 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


“Siam looks so tiny on the map,” Nancy said.” 

“Siam has 200,000 square miles of land,” Un¬ 
cle Lee answered. “It’s a country of mountains 
and valleys with a plateau in the center. We’re 
in the valley of the Menam River now, which 
runs north and south through the plateau. On 
the mountains you’ll find forests of teak and oak 
and pine, and in the jungles of the valleys wild 
plant life and wild animal life, too — tigers, 
rhinos, leopards, and wild elephants.” 

“Siam is the country of white elephants,” Peter 
declared. “I can hardly wait to see them.” 

“You needn’t get excited about white ele¬ 
phants,” Uncle Lee remarked dryly, and added, 
“just wait until you do see them.” 

Peter and Nancy already knew there were 
nearly 12,000,000 people in Siam, that they 
belonged to the yellow race, and that they were 
said to trace their origin back to the fifth cen¬ 
tury before Christ, that this progressive little 
kingdom lay between Burma and French Indo- 
China, but kept its independence. 

The first impression of the MacLarens as they 
stood at the rail of the river boat was that Siam 
was a country of peace and ease and plenty — 
and nakedness. These people were stocky, with 
yellow skin, somewhat thick lips, shining dark 
eyes, flat noses and straight black hair. Invari¬ 
ably they wore their hair cut very short, which 
was decidedly convenient since they were in the 
water as much as they were out of it. 



A CITY OF GOLDEN SPIRES 


183 



Ewing Galloway 

A WATER BUFFALO AND HIS YOUTHFUL RIDER 

Nancy thought once that she heard the wailing 
cry of an infant, but the sound had come from 
one of the gray-haired monkeys on shore. Near 
him bright parrots flitted from tree to tree and 
a crocodile slid off a log and disappeared into 
the swamp. 

Peter stared from one side of the river to the 





184 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


other, delighted with the luxuriant vegetation. 
From small canals branching off the river many 
little boats darted forth. They were filled with 
vegetables, fruits, and sweetmeats. Fish leaped 
here and there. On the shores banana, coconut, 
and mango trees grew plentifully. The little 
cane huts built upon stilts looked like playhouses 
with their palm-leaf roofs. A native boy riding 
along the riverbank on the neck of a huge water 
buffalo interested Peter. 

More and more boats appeared, mostly canoes 
and sampans, paddled oftentimes by naked little 
boys or scantily dressed men and women. And 
now any number of floating houses were seen. 
Many of the roofs had two ridges. Beyond the 
foliage golden spires rose against the clear blue 
sky. A graceful bridge curved upward. The 
town of Bangkok was coming into view. 

The twenty-mile trip was almost at an end. 
The river homes covering a stretch of ten miles 
on both sides of the river represented the water 
front of Bangkok. It was easy to see into the 
houses. At first Nancy decided that she had 
looked into a home not yet furnished, but as the 
boat slowly made its way up the river to the 
docks she saw that the houses were all alike. 
There were no beds, no tables, and no chairs. 
Cooking was done in a box of charcoal half-filled 
with ashes, and the people slept on low pillows of 
wood when they used pillows at all. 

“It is estimated/’ Uncle Lee said, “that about 



A CITY OF GOLDEN SPIRES 


185 


100,000 people live here in Bangkok in houses 
with no foundations but water. They pay small 
rents for favorable places on the river, but if 
they choose to move, they tow their floating homes 
somewhere else. 

“There’s little incentive to work here,” he con¬ 
tinued. “The river is full of fish. There are 
plenty of bananas and mangoes. The soil is rich 
and enough rice is grown to feed the people 
and for export. There’s a surplus of pepper, 
too, as well as spice, coffee, tobacco, and cotton. 
From the mines comes gold as well as iron and 
tin. There’s no fuel problem, as fuel is used only 
in cooking. As for clothing—” 

“No one needs much,” Nancy put in. “Uncle 
Lee, why can’t Peter and I wear our bathing 
suits?” 

“I wouldn’t mind wearing one myself,” Uncle 
Lee agreed as he mopped his face. “But we’re 
going to a staid hotel.” 

“Everybody goes about almost naked here,” 
Nancy argued. “It’s the style. The people wear 
sarongs , I think you call them, a strip of cloth 
wound under the arms and draped for a skirt. 
Nobody thinks of shoes.” 

“Oh, see that funny chair those men are carry¬ 
ing,” exclaimed Peter. 

“That is a harnm,” said Uncle Lee. “It is often 
used as an ambulance when the sick are taken 
to mission hospitals.” 

The boat edged in farther and farther toward 



186 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing G.alloway 

“OH, SEE THAT FUNNY CHAIR,” EXCLAIMED PETER 

dry land. Now the golden spires were closer and 
the roofs of modern buildings appeared. Uncle 
Lee said that there were 100 miles of carriage 
road around Bangkok and four railway stations 
from which visitors might set out to explore the 
little kingdom. 

The MacLarens were soon off the boat and 
into a taxi bound for their hotel. 

“Many of the shopkeepers look like Chinese,” 
Peter noticed as they drove along. 

“There are 1,000,000 Chinese in Siam,” Uncle 
Lee said. “The Chinese are much more energetic 
than the native Siamese. Don’t misunderstand 
me. The Siamese are progressive. Look out on 



A CITY OF GOLDEN SPIRES 


187 


the street. See the modern automobiles alongside 
the oxcarts and the elephants. But Siam, too, 
presents a mixture of East and West. The for¬ 
mer king of Siam became ill a few years ago and 
came to the United States to consult American 
doctors, although many of his people believed he 
could have been cured by medicines made from 
rhinoceros horns, snake galls, or jungle herbs. 
American people met a very modern person in 
King Prajadhipok. He was interested in ath¬ 
letics, in the radio, and in motion pictures. The 
former queen, whom most people were accus¬ 
tomed to think of as shut up in a harem, played 
golf.” 

Peter and Nancy were amazed to learn that 
Bangkok, as a capital city, was only a little older 
than Washington, D. C. The high bridge, whose 
enormous spans rose against colorful temples 
and water-front shops, had been built when Bang¬ 
kok was made the capital of Siam. 

On that famous water front the MacLarens 
viewed a few of Bangkok’s eighty rice mills. 
Fascinated, they watched coolies dump endless 
baskets of rice into the holds of ships. Strange 
ships they were, Chinese junks, lighters, and 
crude boats with sails made of rough matting. 
Near them unwieldy teak logs drifted to land¬ 
ings. Little boats laden with fruit came to shore. 

Peter and Nancy were unfamiliar with many 
of the fruits. In a few days, however, they had 
learned to enjoy the large prickly durian, the 




188 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Siamese “king of fruits,” with its nutlike flavor. 
Nancy liked particularly the purple mangosteen, 
called the “queen of fruits.” It had a hard, pur¬ 
ple outer cover, but a delicate flavor. The ram- 
butan was a red hairy fruit, and there were 
delicious little areca palm nuts. Uncle Lee was 
partial to the large green pomelos which he 
called the grapefruit of Siam. Peter said, “Give 
me bananas, plain bananas. They’re the best 
fruit of all.” 

Almost as interesting to Peter and Nancy as 
the yellow-robed chelas on the streets were the 
temples to which they went to pray. The royal 
temple, Wat Phra Keo, with its eight large 
spires, contained the most beautiful jades the 
MacLarens had yet seen. On a golden throne 
there sat a beautiful jade Buddha. 

A truly magnificent temple was Wat Benjama- 
bopitr. The multiple roofs were made of shiny 
yellow tiles, the walls were of white Carrara 
marble, and the windows and gables were beau¬ 
tifully gilded. The curved points of the roof 
ridges and the golden serpents of the gables 
fascinated Peter again. Quite as alluring were 
the grotesquely trimmed trees. 

The children became used to slow-moving monks 
on the streets, to Chinese shopkeepers in bazaars, 
and to the sacred lotus flowers of rare rose-pink 
that bloomed in the canals. 

The only disappointment in Bangkok con¬ 
cerned the white elephants. They were not pure 





A CITY OF GOLDEN SPIRES 


189 



Ewing Galloway 

A HARDWARE STORE IN BANGKOK 


white at all, but a soiled grayish color. And 
when Peter learned that a white elephant was 
scientifically a sick elephant, he lost all interest 
in these animals that for centuries had been con¬ 
sidered sacred. 

When Uncle Lee asked the two children what 
they wished to do on their last day in Bangkok, 
they both voted to drive down New Road, the 
city’s main thoroughfare. 

New Road, narrow and crowded and following 
the direction of the river, was full of jinriki- 
shas, trucks, oxcarts, tram cars, yellow-robed 










190 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


priests, silk-clad women carrying parasols, sweat¬ 
ing coolies with loads on their backs, or carrying 
sedan chairs, and all manner of yellow people. 
But Peter breathed deeply. Nancy’s eyes shone. 

“Smells like the Orient,” Peter declared, “the 
Throne Hall is Italian, the business men are 
Chinese, and American visitors are welcomed. 
Siam is the country of the free all right!” 



AN EASTERN SEAPORT 


T HERE was a train from Bangkok to Penang, 
or Georgetown, and another one to Singa¬ 
pore, but the MacLarens decided to make the trip 
to Singapore by boat. Leaving Bangkok at dawn, 
the little steamer was soon in the Gulf of Siam, 
sailing steadily southward. The sea was spar¬ 
kling blue, the sunny sky was bluer still. Peter 
and Nancy were glad that they were on a slow 
boat and that the 840-mile trip would take sev¬ 
eral days. 

The nights were even more beautiful than the 
days. The moon seemed closer to the earth, and 
it certainly looked much bigger than the Mac¬ 
Larens had ever seen it. The Milky Way was 
milkier and the stars much brighter. Big plan¬ 
ets like Venus and Mars cast beams over the 
water in paths of gold. Then one night after 
dinner, Peter ran ahead of Uncle Lee and Nancy 
on the deck, shouting, “The sea’s on fire! Come 
and see it!” 

Peter had seen a phosphorescent sea before 
and was not alarmed. He and Nancy were 
delighted with the fiery-appearing water, each 
wave in the wake of the boat tipped with its own 
particular flame. Of course the children knew 
the phosphorescence was due to one-celled animal 
life in the sea. 


191 


192 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


The Southern Cross, never seen in the North, 
shone in beauty each night of the trip. Then on 
a certain dawn, the MacLaren party beheld land 
again, with palm leaves swaying and birds sing¬ 
ing. The boat was now floating into the Straits 
of Malacca, within a few miles of the equator. 
The weather was hotter than the warmest days 
back in Minnesota. 

“Here is perpetual summer,” Uncle Lee de¬ 
clared. “We’ll soon land in Singapore. Thirty 
years ago I wouldn’t have brought a couple of 
youngsters to this malaria-infected jungle. To¬ 
day, I feel sure it’s safe. The captain tells me 
that even since my last visit there have been 
great changes. Forbidden Hill alone is the same.” 

Landing at Singapore one morning, the Mac- 
Larens found themselves in a crowd of many 
races of people, black, yellow, brown, and white. 
Uncle Lee pointed out some real Malays, rather 
handsome, well-formed brown people, with small 
hands and feet. Peter and Nancy were happy 
to be able to recognize Siamese in sarongs with 
jackets and caps, Burmese in silks, and Per¬ 
sians in white caps and gowns. There were 
Parsis from Bombay, too, wearing queer black 
hats like inverted coal scuttles. 

“Who are the men in blue cotton?” Nancy 
asked, and learned that they were Chinese. 

“Those black men over there do not look like 
ordinary Negroes.” Peter was puzzled. “And 
they’re straight as ramrods.” 



AN EASTERN SEAPORT 


193 




Ewing Galloway 


THE WATER FRONT AND HARBOR OF SINGAPORE 

“They are Klings from India,” Uncle Lee ex¬ 
plained. “Those tall policemen with high red tur¬ 
bans are Sikhs from India. The fellow driving 
the bullock cart is an East Indian. Taxi! Taxi!” 

“This is what is called a polyglot population, 
I suppose,” Peter observed, as the taxi, driven 
by a Chinese boy, wove safely through the traf¬ 
fic of street cars, rickshas, bicycles, bullock carts, 
elephants, and pedestrians. In the business dis¬ 
trict hundreds of stores were jammed together 
along the crowded sidewalks or under the shaded 
arcades. 







194 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE STATUE OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES 

The taxi passed through a modern business 
square where the chief point of interest was the 
statue of an English gentleman. 

“Sir Stamford Raffles,” Uncle Lee explained. 
“I want you to remember him as the brilliant 
administrator who made Singapore a part of the 
British Empire. He looks across the quay, as 
you see, toward the busy harbor, one of the 
most important harbors in the Far East.” 

The square seemed to be given over mostly 
to banks. Uncle Lee pointed out five English 
banks, five Chinese banks, two Dutch banks, one 
French bank, and one American bank. These 
banks, he explained, financed the cotton, tin, 
copra, silk, and rubber industries. 

“Rubber particularly,” Uncle Lee added. 





AN EASTERN SEAPORT 


195 


“Where's Forbidden Hill?" Peter and Nancy 
asked together. 

Uncle Lee spoke to the driver and in a short 
time the MacLarens were looking down over the 
roofs of Singapore. The place Uncle Lee called 
Forbidden Hill had once been a fort but was 
now a military store and signal station. A breeze 
floated up to it from the Straits of Malacca where 
the sea shone sapphire blue. The hill had seen 
empires rise and fall. The MacLarens got out 
of their taxi and strolled about. Suddenly Uncle 
Lee gestured toward the Straits. 

“Think of it!" he cried. “The Malay Archi¬ 
pelago, which includes Sumatra, Java, Borneo, 
New Guinea, and the Philippines, divides the 
Indian Ocean from the China Sea. The one 
safe, navigable channel through the barrier is 
the twenty-five-mile-wide Strait of Malacca be¬ 
tween the island of Sumatra and the Malay 
States. And here, where the Indian and the 
Pacific Oceans meet, stands Singapore!" 

“Portal to the far East and the far West!" 
Peter recited dramatically. 

The MacLarens settled down for a week's stay 
at a fine hotel commanding a sea view. There 
was a golf course and a tennis court, but the 
MacLaren children decided they could play 
games at home. There was too much to see in 
Singapore. 

The MacLarens learned at the hotel that Great 
Britain had made Singapore into the world's 



196 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


finest naval station by clearing and draining 
nearly 2,000 acres of jungle. Indian coolies had 
carried baskets of earth on their heads, and 
Chinese workers had brought baskets of earth on 
poles, until finally the mangrove swamps had 
pushed back the sea. Where once the malarial 
jungle had been, there was now a model air and 
seaplane port. Peter was fascinated by the huge 
cannons that guarded the harbor, cannons that 
could cover a radius of twenty miles. While 
viewing the cannons Peter learned from a guard 
that the world's most powerful wireless station 
keeps Singapore in hourly contact with London. 

The huge dry dock, that had taken eight ocean¬ 
going tugs three months to transport from Eng¬ 
land to the Malay States, was surely worthy of 
Peter's intense admiration. Close by millions of 
tons of oil were in reserve for the airplanes and 
battleships. If it had not been so intensely hot 
at noonday, Peter would have spent most of his 
,time on the docks. 

There was a great deal of talk about tin. It 
was the Chinese who had first grubbed for it in 
the malarial jungles where tigers lurked. Today, 
Uncle Lee said, the mining goes on, much of it 
in the old way, but much more with the help of 
modern machinery. 

“A large amount of the world's tin comes from 
Malaysia," he declared, “and plenty of other pro¬ 
ducts, too — sandalwood, cinnamon, copra, gums, 
essences, and sago. Nutmeg grows well here. 



AN EASTERN SEAPORT 


197 


So does coffee, though many plantation owners 
have trouble with diseases in their coffee trees. 
That is why many of the coffee plantations have 
been done away with, and cotton and rubber 
trees planted in the place of coffee seedlings. 
Now I’m going to show you the botanical garden 
at the base of Forbidden Hill.” 

The botanical garden contained almost every 
jungle plant and flower in Malaysia. But the 
story Uncle Lee told was more entertaining than 
the exhibit itself. 

“In 1876,” he said, “Sir Francis Wickham 
smuggled some seeds in from Peru. From those 
seeds nine puny rubber trees were grown in 
the garden. They were the beginning of the 
acres of planted rubber we find today in Malay¬ 
sia. And, by the way, America is the best cus¬ 
tomer for this rubber.” 

“I know,” Peter said. “Tin for our canneries 
and rubber for our tires.” 

“Yes, $60,000,000 worth a year,” Uncle Lee 
said dryly. “Incidentally, Singapore has done 
a large business in petroleum, too. Small won¬ 
der that the city has been able to replace its 
termite-eaten wooden wharves with concrete.” 

“IPs a very romantic city,” Nancy declared. “I 
like the people. And Pd like to ride in a bullock 
cart as well as in a jinrikisha. You were wor¬ 
ried about taking us to Singapore, Uncle Lee, 
but it’s about the most modern and the cleanest 
place we’ve been in.” 




Lionel Green 

EXTRACTING LATEX TO MAKE RUBBER 







AN EASTERN SEAPORT 


199 


“Singapore is certainly healthy,” Uncle Lee 
admitted. “It’s beautiful, too.” 

During their last few days in Singapore the 
MacLarens drove through the long rows of rub¬ 
ber trees on the outskirts of Singapore to visit 
a British friend of Uncle Lee’s. While the men 
rode over the vast acreage, Peter and Nancy 
enjoyed the zoo that Reggie, the small boy of the 
family, had collected. There was a hooded mon¬ 
key with long hair, a pair of argus pheasants 
with the most gorgeous tail feathers, and a tame 
cheetah that looked like a leopard. The honey 
bear resembled a small black dog. But the most 
delightful pet of all was a mouse deer. This 
gentle little animal, although fully grown, was 
only nine inches high. Nancy held it on her 
hand and noticed that each tiny hoof was no 
bigger than a dime. 

Reggie showed his guests pictures of other 
Malay jungle animals, too fierce to be kept in a 
private zoo. There was a man-eating tiger, a 
black leopard, and a big rhino. The immense 
tapir looked as ferocious as the others but Reg¬ 
gie said, “If you don’t bother him, he won’t 
bother you. But a python will chase you, and 
some of the snakes, like the cobra, are very poi¬ 
sonous. A Malay jungle is no place for a picnic.” 

The Chinese cook at the house was preparing 
edible birds’ nests for his own dinner. Reggie 
wanted to know whether Peter or Nancy would 
like to try the delicacy. These nests Reggie 



200 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


volunteered, were made by a species of swallow 
or swift that gathered a special seaweed to weave 
into the nest. 

Later the entire party drove out to see some 
pepper vines. These vines had been trained on 
sticks. The MacLarens learned that pepper was 
the oldest trade product of Asia. 

“Black pepper and white pepper,” Uncle Lee 
said, “come from the same vines. The black 
pepper comes from the berries picked white they 
are still unripe. They turn black when they are 
dry. The white pepper is ripe pepper. Here are 
some ripe berries.” 

“Why, they’re bright red!” Nancy exclaimed. 

“The berries have to be soaked,” Reggie ex¬ 
plained. “When the red skin peels off, you have 
white pepper.” 

Peter and Nancy learned through Reggie that 
there were many villages in the hinterland. The 
huts were simple and built upon piles to make 
them safe from jungle animals. These natives 
tended their coconut groves and sometimes raised 
cacao and pepper. Life was neither so easy nor 
so glamorous as it was in Singapore. 

The week in Singapore passed quickly. Uncle 
Lee made reservations on a steamer bound to 
Saigon in French Indo-China, the country sepa¬ 
rated from Siam by the Mekong River and facing 
the China Sea. The MacLarens could only look 
longingly toward Sumatra, Borneo, and New 
Guinea. Their time would not permit a visit. 



THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT 


T HE MacLarens were sailing the China Sea, 
not as buccaneers of old but as modern geog¬ 
raphers. Uncomfortably warm geographers, it 
is true, but content to watch the bottle-green 
waves of the sea. They were skirting the south¬ 
ernmost shores of Indo-China, that strip of land 
touching India and China but belonging to nei¬ 
ther. It was larger than France, the country that 
claimed it, so Uncle Lee said. The population 
of 17,000,000 were almost all of the yellow, race, 
darker than the Chinese but not so strong or so 
intelligent. 

Peter and Nancy sat with Uncle Lee on the 
shaded deck of the steamer with a flapping map 
of Indo-China on their knees. Cochin China, 
with its capital, Saigon, was well-known for its 
rice fields, Uncle Lee informed them. Cambodia, 
which was also rice country, held within its jungle 
fastnesses, rare stone buildings of interest to 
archeolgists. Its capital, Pnom-Penh, was located 
inland on the Mekong River. Annam prided itself 
on the island walled city of Hue, and Tonkin was 
equally proud of Hanoi, the capital of French 
Indo-China. 

“We’ll stop off at Saigon in the south and Hue 
and Hanoi in the north,” Uncle Lee decided. 
“Anywhere we go in this country will be hot — 
201 


202 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


a hundred in the shade, or so it will seem. I 
hardly think we’ll want to run about much.” 

Peter and Nancy smiled in spite of the heat. 
The heavy green breakers were changing to 
tawny waves, the foam at their crests like down. 
The rice flats of Cochin China were the first vege¬ 
tation the MacLarens saw, as they watched for 
signs of land. Back of the seemingly endless rice 
fields appeared underbrush of bamboo and pal¬ 
metto, lashed together with vines. Uncle Lee said 
that bamboo often got into rice fields like weeds 
in our country and that the natives found it easier 
to clear new space than to grub out the bamboo. 

The steamer entered the mouth of the Saigon 
River, which was as wide as the Mississippi 
River at St Louis. Uncle Lee was explaining that 
the city of Saigon, with Cholon, its Chinese 
suburb, was the commercial center of Indo-China, 
when sounds of an altercation were heard. The 
captain objected to hiring an expensive pilot 
when he was capable of getting his boat up the 
river by himself. Nevertheless, he was forced 
to comply with the rules. 

The country was flat, flat as a kitchen floor, 
and only a few feet above water. Uncle Lee 
said this flatness extended for fifty miles. Peter 
and Nancy confided to each other that the set¬ 
ting for the Pearl of the Orient, as Saigon is 
sometimes called, was certainly not beautiful. 
Would the Pearl be disappointing too? 

The boat came to rest just as the lights of the 



THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT 


203 


city began to twinkle like fireflies in a swamp. 
The river no longer looked muddy, and a few 
crocodiles, and huge pelicans with yellow sacks 
beneath their throats, faded into the dusk. A 
Chinese boat with eyes on the sides of its prow 
nudged closely up to the big steamer from Sing¬ 
apore. 

A few minutes later the MacLarens were be¬ 
ing borne swiftly along in jinrikishas toward 
their hotel over macadamized streets of red 
earth, fringed by palms and tropical trees. By 
the electric arc lamps, made in France, the reds 
and yellows of flowering trees looked strangely 
lovely. The houses were of pink and red and 
yellow and blue, with attractive red-tiled roofs. 

The MacLarens were trundled through parks 
and along spacious boulevards and finally set 
down at the door of a beautiful modern hotel. 
Other guests, arriving by rail, came in little box¬ 
like cabs that Uncle Lee called “matchboxes.” 
The children could hardly wait until the next 
day to assure themselves of the reality of Saigon. 

In the morning the MacLarens strolled out 
under the shade trees of the quarter where the 
military hospitals and barracks were located. 
Never had they beheld more gorgeous scarlet 
fire plant, which was especially beautiful against 
the gleaming white buildings. 

Officers strolled along the streets. Women in 
the latest Parisian clothes brushed native women 
in loose black coats and flapping black trousers. 




204 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Most of the men were in white cotton with thick 
hats or helmets on their heads. 

At noon there was nobody on the streets at all, 
and even Peter was glad to retire from the with¬ 
ering heat to the coolness of the hotel. 

Toward evening the shops re-opened, and the 
MacLarens drove out to the Nouveau Port, where 
they sat in the breeze and ate peanuts with the 
rest of the crowd. Men, women, and children 
sat at little tables under awnings, sipping their 
drinks and listening to the orchestras. 

On the second morning in Saigon the Mac¬ 
Larens visited the market. Under its huge roof 
it offered everything from gorgeous flowers to 
balloons. There were crates of fish, meat, melons, 
cheap garments, red lacquer boxes, white rad¬ 
ishes, and wooden clogs. Children wandered 
about with trays of cut watermelon, and both 
Peter and Nancy enjoyed huge slices. The heat 
seemed terrific. Whenever the Chinese - mer¬ 
chants grew too warm, they emptied a bucket 
of water over themselves. Peter said they set 
a good example. 

On Sunday the MacLarens visited the zoo. 
Peter and Nancy fed the black and gray monkeys 
in the big cage with peanuts and bananas. Tir¬ 
ing of this they visited the cathedral.- From the 
cathedral they drove out to look at the native 
homes on the edge of town. No pretty painted 
houses here, but bamboo huts set up on stilts and 
roofed with thatched rice straw or palms. The 



THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT 


205 



Ewing Galloway 

THE MARKET IN SAIGON 


men who lived here were the ones who helped 
supply rice for the many rice mills. 

It was hard to leave Saigon, but Uncle Lee 
promised a much more romantic city in Hue, 
the capital of Annam, famous like Cambodia and 
Cochin China for its rice. 

Another boat trip up another river, the famous 
River of Perfume! It helped to form the lilied 
moats about the town of Hue, a walled city on 
a square island. Three sides were bordered by 
the river, the fourth side by a canal. There were 
some modern homes, a splendid observatory, and 




206 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE HUE RIVER IS LINED WITH 
SWEET-SMELLING SHRUBS 


a beautiful library in the town. The most ap¬ 
pealing buildings were the old palaces, roofed with 
yellow tile. There were countless simple huts with 





THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT 


207 


heavy, thatched roofs. Peter and Nancy had seen 
many strange colorful crowds in Asiatic cities, 
but nothing lovelier than the women of Hue with 
their bright silk gowns of purple and green and 
flowered orange. 

The MacLarens visited the citadel, which 
really was the town. It had once been a well- 
armed fortress. It was now a park containing 
imperial buildings. Inside the citadel was the 
Purple Enclosure where the king had dwelt. Near 
by were some one-storied white houses where the 
mandarins had lived. The houses were in a set¬ 
ting of banana and papaya' trees, their curved 
roofs decorated with dragons and other fantastic 
figures. The sentries wore colorful costumes like 
those seen in comic operas. 

“This is one city,” Nancy declared, “that we’re 
going to think we dreamed of but never saw.” 

If rice was being loaded on their boat at Hue 
Peter and Nancy were too starry-eyed with the 
picture of the walled city and the River of Per¬ 
fume to notice. 

Hanoi' proved to be a modern city with electric 
street cars and many electric lights. In its for¬ 
eign quarter were many fine European homes, 
including the palace of its governor-general 
Around the fortifications where the soldiers lived 
there was a deep moat. The rest of the town 
consisted mostly of cane huts thatched with palm 
leaves. Up and down the Songka River were 
miles of villages with the same type of huts. 



208 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


The people appeared businesslike, and there 
was none of the glamor of Hue in Hanoi. Uncle 
Lee said all the people near Hanoi lived by farm¬ 
ing. They planted rice (“Who doesn’t in Indo- 
China?” Peter had interrupted to ask), cotton, 
pepper, and sugar. Many of these people 
gathered wild rubber. 

Nancy decided that it would be hard to remem¬ 
ber the important things about Indo-China but 
easy to store up a picture of the Pearl of the 
Orient. 



THE LONG COAST OF CHINA 


H EADING toward the East China Sea, a 
wary eye painted on each side of her prow, 
the little steamer approached Hong Kong. The 
China coast stretched 2,000 miles, so Uncle Lee 
declared, from the Portuguese Macao in the 
south to Japanese Dairen in the north. Peter 
was especially excited because he had just learned 
that America’s first foreign trade as a new-born 
republic was with China. Within six months 
from the date of the Boston Tea Party, Uncle 
Lee had said, our first merchant vessel, the newly 
christened Empress of China, had been bound 
for Canton to buy tea. 

The steamer anchored briefly outside the har¬ 
bor of Macao, but long enough to give the Mac- 
Larens a view of the little Portuguese city that 
looked so much like a medieval European town. 
A fortress, some weathered churches, and a few 
government offices overlooked the pink, blue, and 
green buildings lining the water front. This 
was really a Chinese outpost, won by the Portu¬ 
guese in return for keeping pirates from the 
sea. Here the Empress of China had stopped to 
get an official Chinese permit to continue her 
journey. 

“Macao’s famous for firecrackers, opium, and 
gambling,” Uncle Lee said. 

209 


210 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


“And fishing!” Peter added, for everywhere 
there appeared to be boats busy with this most 
ancient occupation. 

The children watched the blue-green hills until 
they faded against the sky. 

Canton was not the Canton the American 
sailors from the Empress of China had visited. 
Where the former muddy levee with its shabby 
buildings had stood, stretched the Bund , a well- 
paved thoroughfare with tall hotels, big depart¬ 
ment stores, fine commercial houses, and a mod¬ 
ern customhouse. Uncle Lee said that when he 
had visited here years before, he had been carried 
in a sedan chair through streets so narrow that 
he could touch a dried duck on one side and a 
pile of embroidery on the other. 

Now the MacLarens rode through miles of 
paved streets in a modern motor car. Of late 
years many buildings had been razed, including 
part of the wall around the city, to make way for 
great sweeping thoroughfares. Between these 
main business avenues, usually running parallel 
around the steep hillsides, there were many nar¬ 
row, sloping streets, often stair-stepped. Peter 
and Nancy enjoyed these streets most of all. 
Here they saw a boy no older than Peter weaving 
a Chinese rug on a crude loom. Here they saw a 
man carving ivory to look like lace. Here they 
saw jade being fashioned into bracelets, and 
priceless porcelains being fired. Uncle Lee was 
most interested in the two new bridges being 



THE LONG COAST OF CHINA 


211 



Eicing Galloway 

A CHINESE RUG WEAVER 


built across the Pearl River, linking the city of 
Canton with Honan Island. Half the people lived 
in the city, Uncle Lee said, and the other half 
lived across the harbor or on junks in the river. 
Many people were born, lived, and died on these 
boats. The foreign residents lived in a separate 
section or concession, as is customary in many 
Chinese cities. 

Uncle Lee took Peter and Nancy in a sampan 
through the maze of boats on the Pearl River. 
Venders of vegetables, meats, and even house¬ 
hold wares paddled alongside the houseboats 
where women cooked and tended babies on the 











212 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

A SILK STORE IN CANTON 

open decks. There were even gaudy teahouses 
afloat. In midstream lay several gunboats to 
discourage any pirates that might attack the 
defenseless boat-owners. 
















THE LONG COAST OF CHINA 


213 


Canton, Peter and Nancy learned, exported 
not only tea but raw silk and tropical produce 
such as rice and bamboo. 

It would have been a very simple matter to 
board an air liner at Canton and fly up the coast. 
But the MacLarens had booked passage on a 
boat. 

Hong Kong, Uncle Lee said, owed its success 
as a port to British enterprise. Hong Kong, he 
explained, was the island and Victoria the name 
of the city on it. The water front was a preten¬ 
tious one, with large government buildings and 
palatial houses backed up against the hillside. 
There were shipbuilding docks, sugar refineries, 
and cement factories all going full force. Hong 
Kong was a free port, and Uncle Lee said that 
50,000 boats did business in the harbor every 
year. 

Although Peter and Nancy had been prepared 
for a busy harbor, they had not expected one so 
beautiful or so big. 

Hong Kong, the Harbor of Fragrant Streams! 
Blue sky above and blue water below, with golden 
sunlight catching the thin mists of modern 
steamships and the wide sails of fishing schoon¬ 
ers! The babble of many tongues and the min¬ 
gled, spicy smells of the East! Fleets of junks 
from the far north, and fleets of junks from the 
Dutch East Indies to the south, all sailed halt¬ 
ingly but surely shoreward. In between were 
numerous small boats on which whole families 



214 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


lived and plied their trading. Back and forth 
they moved between other boats and the shore. 

Peter’s gaze and Nancy’s, too, followed one 
small boat right up to a factory from which it 
evidently received its produce. Above the fac¬ 
tories and warehouses fine houses climbed, one 
above the other, up and up the hillsides as if 
eager, even in their great dignity—for some 
were palatial — to look down upon one of the 
most beautiful harbors in the world. 

The MacLarens waved to Chinese children on 
decks of small boats as their steamer wedged 
its way into port. Such round, smiling faces! 
Such bright, shining, slanting eyes! Such chubby 
brown babies! Such queer, gurgled greetings or 
staccato remarks! The babies, Nancy observed, 
were kept from falling into the water by having 
a cord tied to their ankles. Children a little older 
wore gourds fastened to their waists to hold them 
up in case they fell overboard. 

The party went ashore, crowding down the 
gangplank. 

The native section of Hong Kong, with its nar¬ 
row, stair-stepped streets, its curio shops, and 
its markets, was colorful if odorous. Uncle Lee 
transported his charges by cable tramway to the 
Peak where they could look down on the crescent 
of the city and the tall masts and billowing sails 
in the harbor. How enchanting to live on a boat! 

After a visit in Hong Kong, entirely too short, 
the MacLarens again took a steamer up the coast. 



THE LONG COAST OF CHINA 


215 



Ewing Galloway 

CHINESE COOLIES 


Men and women came aboard at Swatow to sell 
linen, embroidery, and laces. Swatow had once 
had a very black name because it sold coolies into 
slavery for foreign labor. Uncle Lee explained 
that coolies were the laboring class in China. 
Because they live on rice almost entirely, their 
cost of living is cheap. Coolies work for such 
very low wages that they have been in demand in 
many parts of the world. 

The next port was Amoy, famous for its fine 
tea and ambitious to outshine Hong Kong. The 
boat did not stop here or at Foochow. Because 
of the popularity of black tea from Assam and 






216 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Ceylon, Foochow was wisely turning its interest 
to green tea. A Britisher who lived in Foochow 
said that lacquer ware was also gaining recog¬ 
nition. 

“We’ll soon be in Shanghai!” Uncle Lee 
looked eager as he paced the deck with Peter 
and Nancy. “But before we go farther north, 
I want you two to know about the two great 
rivers of China, the Yangtze and the Hwang Ho. 
The Yangtze is over 3,000 miles long, the longest 
river in China, and it is navigable as far as 
Hankow. The Hwang Ho, or Yellow River, so- 
called from the yellow clay in its basin, has often 
been named the Sorrow of China because of its 
floods. The bed of this stream, due to the silt 
constantly carried down from mountains shorn 
of their trees, and the embankment built to hold 
it, is higher than the land on either side.” 

“If China developed agriculture long before 
America was discovered,” Peter spoke up, “I 
should think the agriculturists would have 
learned that trees hold water and prevent floods.” 

“We Americans could learn that lesson, too,” 
Uncle Lee observed. 

“Between the two great rivers are mountain 
ranges,” he continued. “On the southern slopes 
the farmers grow tobacco, opium, tea, and mul¬ 
berry trees for silk worms. Still lower in the 
valleys they produce oranges, cotton, sugar cane, 
and, of course, rice. Quite as important as the 
rivers and the mountains is the Grand Canal.” 



THE LONG COAST OF CHINA 


217 


“You’re thinking of Venice,” Nancy declared 
mischievously. 

“This Grand Canal is one of the longest canals 
in the world,” Uncle Lee said smiling. “It is 
500 miles long, in fact, and it connects the two 
great rivers of China, providing a water route 
between Hangchow and Peiping. It was once 
far more important than it is now. Railways 
and airplanes have lessened distances and changed 
modes of travel.” 

Shanghai, Peter and Nancy were amazed to 
find, was not at the mouth of the Yangtze River 
or even on it. It was about thirteen miles in¬ 
land on the west bank of the Whangpoo River. 
Hankow was 600 miles up the Yangtze, and the 
location of both cities was in so fertile a part of 
the country that it was called the Garden of 
China. Uncle Lee said that Hankow was often 
called the Chicago of China because of its geo¬ 
graphical centrality and its position as a meeting 
point of maritime, river, and rail transport. 
Peter said that if Hankow were the Chicago of 
China, surely Shanghai was the New York. 

For the time being Peter and Nancy were 
delighted to remain in Shanghai. This key sea¬ 
port to the rest of China had, thanks to trade, 
grown from a fishing village into a great modern 
city. Ships, airplanes, and railways were every¬ 
where in evidence. 

During the past few years, the children learned, 
many buildings of the skyscraper type had been 



218 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Paul’s Photos 


SHANGHAI AT NIGHT 

constructed. In spite of poor footing in alluvial 
soil, architects were constructing department 
stores, and teahouses, and guildhalls of ten and 
fifteen stories. 

Even in the native city Uncle Lee said there 
had been some changes. Open sewers running 
down the middle of the streets had been covered 
with concrete. While this change delighted Uncle 
Lee, he was disappointed to find that the Willow 
Pattern Teahouse, the original of the famous 
porcelain-ware design, had been changed for the 
worse with matting blinds, kitchen extensions, 
and advertisements. Through narrow, twisting 
alleys the MacLarens trudged, staring in at the 
little open-front shops and pausing to buy water 
chestnuts and sweetmeats. They even picked 
up a few firecrackers. It was refreshing to 
know that firecrackers did not belong to Inde- 






THE LONG COAST OF CHINA 


219 



Ewing Galloway 

TRAVEL ON THE BUND 

pendence Day in China, but were used in many 
celebrations, including christenings and funerals. 

While in Shanghai the MacLarens lived at the 
American Settlement which was part of the In¬ 
ternational Settlement of the city. Here foreign¬ 
ers might live and be governed by their own laws. 
Uncle Lee said this cosmopolitan city contained 
fifty foreign nationalities, and indeed it seemed 
so on the streets. 

Along the Bund the traffic was as varied as the 
people. Tramcars, busses, motor cars, and 
trucks vied with wheelbarrows, rickshas, bicy¬ 
cles, carriages drawn by horses, and coolies act¬ 
ing as beasts of burden. Bubbling Well Road, 








220 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


running westward from the Bund, seemed con¬ 
stantly to be packed with traffic. To the delight 
of Peter and Nancy there appeared many an 
American sailor. 

Uncle Lee could not keep his charges away 
from the picturesque streets. They strove to 
guess what the Chinese idiographs on flags be¬ 
fore the shops advertised, and they often followed 
a street vender as he shouted his wares. Once 
they visited an American Mission that was serv¬ 
ing free soup and when they saw how grateful 
the poor Chinese were for the nourishing food, 
they resolved never thereafter to forget the pen¬ 
nies for missions. 

One bright morning Jimmy Dustin arrived 
at the hotel to the surprise of the MacLarens. 
How glad they were to see him! Greeting old 
friends in places .far from home was one of the 
nicest experiences travelers could have; and Jim¬ 
my was an old friend. 

Uncle Lee had wanted Peter and Nancy to see 
what he called the real backbone of China, the 
farmers of the interior. Jimmy was on his way 
to Peiping, and was delighted to have the Mac- 
Laren party join him. 



CHINESE FARMS AND RICE FIELDS 


T HE plane flew steadily south and a little west, 
high above the Chinese farms and rice fields. 
“Farmers since the days of Noah!” Uncle Lee 
said. “The kindliest, the most patient farmers 
in the world!” 

As Peter sat next to Nancy in the airplane, 
he began to express his ideas aloud. 

“It seems very strange,” he said, “that the land 
hasn’t worn out in so old a country. It fed the 
people thousands of years before Christ, and it 
is still feeding them. Uncle Lee says that China 
is a vegetable country, both north and south, 
although there are more animals in the north 
than in the south. Because the rivers flow east 
and west there isn’t much communication between 
the two sections. South China goes in for wet 
farming, raising rice; while north China does 
mostly dry farming, raising grain. It will be 
fun getting away from the cities.” 

“It’s cold,” Nancy complained. “If this keeps 
up, I’ll have to put on my warmer coat.” 

“Or six inches of cotton like the northern 
Chinese,” Peter suggested. “You’d look quite 
chubby.” 

At dawn the plane came down on an excuse 
for a country road just outside a rice-grower’s 
home. According to American standards it was 


221 


222 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

CHINESE CHILDREN IN QUILTED CLOTHES 


not much of a home. It was made of mud bricks 
with a roof of rice-straw thatch. It seemed very 
small for the very large family that was already 
up and about. An aged grandmother, sitting 
outside in the pale light, held a sleeping baby on 
her lap. The father and his boys were already 
making toward their fields, but on seeing Jimmy 
and his guests they returned to offer a most hospi¬ 
table welcome. The Americans were invited 
inside a house that was barren of furniture ex¬ 
cept for two benches, a table, and a boxlike stove. 
There was a bed platform under which ran a 





CHINESE FARMS AND RICE FIELDS 


223 


brick flue that connected with the kitchen and 
utilized the extra heat from the stove in winter 
time. 

The children scuttled into one corner, staring 
and peeking out from behind one another at 
the guests. Soon Nancy had coaxed the smallest 
one into her arms, and then they all surrounded 
her, filling the little house with chatter and tin¬ 
kling laughter. Uncle Lee was talking to the 
farmer and making notes in his little pocket 
notebook. 

When he could get the attention of both Peter 
and Nancy he said, “Our friend here explains 
how it is that he can care for his fine big family 
on so small a farm. First of all, he says it is 
because of the mild climate. China is south of 
our country, you know. Secondly, he says the 
soil is peculiarly fertile and he takes pains to 
keep it so, using natural fertilizers. Last of all, 
he declares that the entire family is very econom¬ 
ical, wasting not one blade of grass or one small 
handful of rice. In addition, he says he has a 
fair government. The tax taken by the state is 
very small.” 

Peter was not interested in taxes. He picked 
up a three-pronged pitchfork from a corner of 
the main room. 

“Look at this!” he exclaimed. “It’s a natural 
wooden fork. How did they ever find it?” 

A bright-eyed boy of Peter’s age attempted to 
explain in Chinese. 



224 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


“They did not find it accidentally,” Jimmy 
interpreted. “A tree was trained so that there 
would be three main branches. Then the other 
branches were lopped off. These pitchforks are 
grown. Look at that rake in the kitchen corner. 
It’s of bamboo that has been bent and twisted 
and split to make teeth. The little fellows of the 
household use these light bamboo rakes to gather 
every wisp of straw or hay for winter use.” 

The children’s clothes were all of cotton. 
Everybody was barefoot except the mother and 
the grandmother, and they wore wooden sandals. 

“No woolen underwear or leather shoes!” 
Nancy observed. 

“There’s a reason,” Jimmy put in. “No wool 
because there are no sheep. No sheep because 
there is no food for sheep. No leather because 
there are no cattle. No cattle because there is 
no food for them either. Come on out! The 
family is going to plant its fourth crop of rice 
for the year.” 

But the mother insisted on first serving her 
guests a meal of hot rice and tea. The man of 
of the house was much excited when he learned 
that the MacLarens were to see the Temple of 
Heaven. 

“He says,” Jimmy interpreted, “that the old¬ 
est ritual the world knows is celebrated there. 
Confucius was a great teacher. He taught obedi¬ 
ence of children to parents, kindness to animals, 
and loyalty of family members one to another. 



CHINESE FARMS AND RICE FIELDS 


225 


There is no worship of idols in a temple devoted 
to Confucius’ teachings. A tablet is placed in 
a temple in honor of the great teacher’s memory. 
There is no priesthood. The emperor represents 
the head of the religion. This family tries to 
carry out the well-known teachings. These chil¬ 
dren, for example, will do anything for their 
parents.” 

As the sun rose higher, the MacLarens with 
Jimmy beside them walked out to one of the rice 
fields. It was a small field surrounded by its own 
dam a foot high. The soil had already been ferti¬ 
lized. The seedlings were ready. On a single 
acre, the farmer explained, enough plants could 
be grown to supply ten acres for final planting. 
Hour after hour the patient workers bent to 
their task, planting the little shoots that would 
one day be large rice plants. 

“Something like an eighth of all the land in 
China fit for cultivation is planted with rice,” 
Uncle Lee spoke up. “And every year the rice 
plants are transplanted by hand in this way.” 

At noon the workers stopped for a pan of hot 
food. In the meantime the smaller children 
gathered sticks and bits of grass. The Mac¬ 
Larens looked about at the neighboring rice pad¬ 
dies. Uncle Lee pointed out the water wheels 
and windmills by which the water of the canals 
could be brought up to the level of the fields. 
Often canal mud, he explained, was spread over 
the fields as a dressing. Farmers prized it very 



226 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

PREPARING A PADDY FIELD FOR RICE PLANTING 

highly because, in addition to the organic matter 
in this mud, there was a great deal of lime from 
snail shells. 

Early in the afternoon Jimmy flew the Mac- 
Larens northward. The plane circled the fine 
pagoda homes of several wealthy Chinese farm¬ 
ers. Every possible inch of land w T as used by 
these farmers as carefully as by the poorer 
farmers. 

The type of farm changed as the plane left 
behind the canals and the water power. Jimmy 
finally landed the plane in a field that had been 




CHINESE FARMS AND RICE FIELDS 


227 


harvested of its millet. The party walked to a 
farmhouse and asked for shelter. This farm¬ 
house was larger than the one in the south and 
it faced on a courtyard. The tablets of the 
family’s ancestors were set above a little shrine 
in the kitchen. Uncle Lee said that many Chi¬ 
nese families could trace their ancestry back, not 
a few hundred years, but a few thousand years. 

The MacLarens made a tour of the fields, 
Uncle Lee talking of the peculiar porous soil that 
needed only a dressing from a lower level to make 
it highly productive. Peter and Nancy saw 
patches of Indian corn, sweet potatoes, castor 
bean plants, and soybeans. Nancy was amazed 
to learn that rhubarb had its original home in 
China. Melons were common, but Uncle Lee 
said that the Chinese as a rule did not care for 
berries or figs and had never encouraged their 
production. 

They saw many fields of sorghum. The leaves 
of this plant made fine mattings and wrappings. 
After the heads of grain were cut, the stems 
might be used for thatch, for fences, and even 
for ceilings or walls when plastered with mud. 

The MacLarens found the weather colder here 
than where they had been. Already the smallest 
farmhouse toddler wore two cotton suits. He 
was a smiling, happy baby and he gurgled with 
joy when he saw the patient water buffalo draw¬ 
ing a cart across the fields. Peter and Nancy 
learned that in north China people put on more 



228 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


clothes as winter advances. The owner of the 
farm said, laughingly, “You Americans live in 
your houses, but we live in our clothes.” 

As Jimmy refueled his plane at a village, he 
remarked to Peter and Nancy, “I wish I could 
show you all the farms of China. The loveliest 
crop is the Flower of Buddha, or lotus. The roots 
and seed pods are considered a luxury. In Yun¬ 
nan Province I could show you paddy fields of 
rice on mountain sides. I could show you won¬ 
derful tea plantations, too, and mulberry trees 
in the silk districts, and extraordinarily fine cot¬ 
ton. The Chinese love their farms, and they 
enjoy working on them. What I can’t show you 
is much animal life — a few pigs, perhaps, but 
very few sheep and no cattle to speak of.” 

Uncle Lee joined his party for the flight back 
to Shanghai. 

“There are two names in my notebook that I 
think you’ll be interested in.” he said. 

“What are the names?” Jimmy asked. 

“The first is Shen Nung.” 

“Who is he—or who was he?” Jimmy inquired. 

“An emperor,” Uncle Lee replied, “who lived 
about 2700 B.C. He invented the plow and 
taught the Chinese how to farm.” 

“And the other name?” Peter inquired. 

“Ch’in Shih Huang Ti!” Uncle Lee pronounced 
the name proudly. 

“Builder of the Great Wall!” cried Peter just 
as proudly. 



CHINESE FARMS AND RICE FIELDS 


229 



Lionel Green 

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA STRETCHED 
OVER THE HILLS 

“Yes. He built the Great Wall about 2,000 
years ago to keep all foreigners out of China. The 
wall is about 1800 miles long, and stretches out 
over the hills and across the valley. And more 
important still, he was the maker of a great law 
that gave each Chinese a right to private prop¬ 
erty,” Uncle Lee explained. “In 220 B. C. he did 
away with community property.” 

“I think that must be why the Chinese take 
such great pride in their farms,” Nancy decided. 
“It is because they own them, just as we own our 
farm back in Minnesota.” 





FROM PEIPING NORTH 


T HE MacLarens would have liked to ap¬ 
proach Peiping over the flagstones of the 
Imperial Highway that Marco Polo followed, 
flagstones rutted by the cart wheels of 1,000 
years. If followed out from Peiping, that road 
would have taken the travelers back to Istan¬ 
bul, their starting point on the Asiatic tour. 
They might also have approached Peiping as the 
Tartar conquerors did on their shaggy ponies, 
through Kalgan Gate in the Wall. Instead they 
entered by the railroad from the sea. They left 
Tientsin immediately upon landing and pro¬ 
ceeded over the flat, brownish land. In every 
yard they saw people in blue coolie clothes work¬ 
ing in their small gardens behind mud walls and 
near mud buildings. Grave mounds, some 
marked with tablets and shaded by trimmed 
trees, stood in furrows here and there. South 
and east lay the monotonous plains; north and 
west rose the hills. 

At last a long gray wall appeared. Next came 
a shabby, dirty suburb and then a willow-bor¬ 
dered canal of yellow water in which women 
were washing clothes and white ducks were 
swimming. Near Peiping rose the walls of the 
city. The MacLarens went through a gate 
guarded by soldiers in gray and police in black. 


230 


FROM PEIPING NORTH 


231 



Ewing Galloway 

A CLOISONNE POTTERY WORKER IN PEIPING 


“Peiping is no longer the capital of China,” 
Uncle Lee said. “The new capital is at Nanking. 
Kublai Khan, in his magnificence, could never 
have foreseen such a change.” 

After getting refreshed at the hotel, there was 
still time before luncheon for a little sight-seeing. 
A walk through the busy streets proved interest¬ 
ing. Nancy was attracted to a pottery shop 
where a man was at work making a small dish. 
In other parts of the same shop designs were 
being outlined on various vessels with copper 
wire and these designs were later filled in with 





232 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


enamel. The finished pieces of cloisonne enamel 
ware, as it was called, were lovely to see. 

In the afternoon, the MacLarens hired jinriki- 
shas and climbed Coal Hill to look upon a city 
of one-story buildings and walled courtyards, 
with temples and pavilions rising above the drab 
homes. Wherever yellow tiles appeared, Uncle 
Lee declared, they meant imperial interests. The 
green or blue tiles designated government build¬ 
ings. Noble evergreens, white pines, and cedars 
relieved the khaki-gray city with their fresh 
color. Looking at the walls there appeared to be 
three cities, one within another, and a fourth 
city away to the south. Peter and Nancy were 
most interested in the Imperial City within which 
lay the Forbidden City, once the residence of the 
Dragon Emperors. This Imperial City was en¬ 
closed within old pink walls, and its buildings 
were roofed with shimmering yellow tiles. Uncle 
Lee said that the moat in summertime was full 
of flowering lotus and that white cranes stepped 
among the rose-pink flowers. 

There was time to view only a few famous 
buildings, one of them the great White Dagoba, 
built in 1652 as a compliment to the Dalai Lama 
of Tibet. It was located on one of the Three 
Seas, which really were artificial lakes. While 
it was impressive from a distance with its spire, 
its lofty ornament, and its gilded ball, it proved 
on closer inspection to be rather shabby, with 
surface plaster scaling away in patches. The 



FROM PEIPING NORTH 


233 



Ewing Galloway 

A PROCESSION OF LAMAS LEAVING THE GREAT 
LAMA TEMPLE 

approach, of elaborate memorial archways with 
sloping supports colored in jade greens and 
lavender, was very attractive. A procession of 
lamas in elaborate ceremonial robes came from 
the temple. 

The Temple of Confucius, in the North City 
between the Lama Temple and the Hall of Clas¬ 
sics, was glimpsed first through an avenue of 
ancient trees. The sun slanted on old red walls 
while the overhanging eaves glowed with tur¬ 
quoise blue, green, yellow, and purple. There 
were small golden-roofed kiosks, and Uncle Lee 








234 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN 

said the sacrificial burners were of a rare bronze 
no longer cast. There were no statues in the 
temple or images of Confucius. Richly engraved 
tablets hung above the altar and in the incense 
burner lay the gray ashes of many joss sticks. 
It was a place of the tranquillity of spirit that 
Confucius had taught. 

The Altar and Temple of Heaven to the south 
in the Chinese City, stood out in the glare of 
the sun,- although they were really within a vast 
park. 

The altar was a three-tiered disk of purest 
white marble. Uncle Lee said that on the mas- 




FROM PEIPING NORTH 


235 


sive topmost platform, which was called the roof 
of heaven, the smoke of a burnt offering rose 
once a year. 

“What is the offering?” Peter inquired. 

“A bull calf of unmixed color and without 
flaw!” Uncle Lee chanted. 

“The old Empress believed that the center of 
this altar was the center of the universe. While 
the smoke rose upward, the Son of Heaven, the 
Emperor, knelt and prayed for blessings on his 
people.” 

“0 Uncle Lee!” Nancy caught her breath in 
sheer ecstasy. “Look, Uncle Lee! Look, Peter, 
at the Temple of Heaven! Three blue roofs, like 
three pieces of sky — beautiful sky!” 

“The Temple of Heaven is beautiful,” Uncle 
Lee agreed. “It is often called by the Chinese 
the Temple of the Happy Year.” 

The MacLarens approached the building up 
steps which were arranged in groups of nine, the 
mystical number, passing between wings of white 
marble columns. The temple appeared higher 
than its ninety-nine feet. Its triple roofs, of a 
lovely azure tile, shone in the sunlight which 
caught the gilded ball at the top, turning it to 
pure gold. 

Uncle Lee waited for Peter’s exclamations of 
admiration to cease before he said, “That design 
is one of the rarest in the world. The original 
structure was destroyed by fire in 1889, but the 
temple was immediately rebuilt. At the time 



236 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 


THE HOME OF A WEALTHY CHINESE MERCHANT 

there was no local wood of a size that would 
make mighty columns. Where do you suppose 
the Chinese secured the trees ?” 

Together Peter and Nancy inquired, “Where?” 

“From Oregon!” Uncle Lee replied. 

“Oregon!” 

“Yes, Oregon. At a great deal of trouble and 
expense the logs were shipped from Oregon.” 

“Oregon pine!” Peter exclaimed. “Oregon pine 
in the Temple of Heaven!” 

Going back into the city along the CKien Men , 
the street used by the emperors when they visited 
the Temple of Heaven, the MacLarens passed 





















FROM PEIPING NORTH 


237 


many homes of well-to-do Chinese merchants. 
Nancy longed to see some of the interiors which 
she had heard described in the hotel. 

The days were flying by. As Nancy said, 
Mongolia was calling. The MacLarens were to 
make their entrance through the pass of the 
Great Wall at Nankow, on the main road from 
China to Mongolia. Peter and Nancy straddled 
tough little donkeys saddled with blankets for 
the trip. The stirrups were iron rings fastened 
by ropes. Again the MacLarens saw camel 
trains, some almost a mile long, carrying coal, 
wool, and brick tea. The bells attached to the 
neck of the sixth camel in the string told the 
Mongolian driver, as Peter put it, that the end 
camel was not lying down on the job. 

The MacLarens followed the camel train 
through the dusty pass. Coming out of the pass 
they watched countless camels moving up and 
down and up and down against the blue sky. 
Finally, tired and dusty, the entire train reached 
Kalgan, the point from which caravans invari¬ 
ably set out for Urga, the capital of Mongolia. 

It would have taken two months to reach Urga 
by camel train. Oxcarts would have been equally 
slow. Automobile travel was possible only in 
summer. So Uncle Lee had arranged for a 
plane, and while the MacLarens waited, they 
made a few trips out into the country on camels. 
It was bitterly cold, so cold, in fact, that all 
three MacLarens were glad to wear sheepskin 



238 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

THE MACLARENS FOLLOWED THE CAMEL TRAIN 

garments with wool inside such as the Mongols 
wear. They also added boots to their own foot¬ 
gear. 

“Mongolia,” Uncle Lee explained, “extends 
from Turkestan to Manchuria and from north¬ 
ern China to Siberia. Most of it is a plateau 
known as the Gobi Desert.” 

“The Gobi Desert! I’ve heard of that! I’d 
like to see it,” Peter cried. 

The short rides the MacLarens took out on 
this Mongolian wasteland were uneventful, but 
it was thrilling to realize that this desert was 
thought by some scholars to be the birthplace of 
the human race. Uncle Lee entertained Peter and 
Nancy with stories he had read about the Gobi 





! 



Wide wona Jt'tiotos 

THE MONGOLS WERE TALL, WITH COPPER-COLORED 
FACES AND HIGH CHEEKBONES 




240 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Expeditions of 1928 and 1931 sent out by the 
American Museum of Natural History. He told 
how they had discovered remains of gigantic pre¬ 
historic animals and strange plant life. 

Peter was excited to find adventure and ex¬ 
ploration worthy of Columbus brought down to 
the present and before his eyes. 

“Fd like to uncover a dinosaur skeleton that 
was 90,000,000 years old,” he said one day with 
such vigor and intent that Nancy looked around 
expectantly. 

On their excursions from Kalgan, the chil¬ 
dren found that the Mongols looked somewhat 
like American Indians. They were tall, with 
copper-colored faces and high cheekbones. Be¬ 
ing desert people, they were necessarily nomads, 
though their circular tents, which were called 
yurts , appeared to be substantial enough for a 
settled dwelling. The yurts were constructed 
of layers of felt over a framework, with no win¬ 
dows and only one small door. A hole in the roof 
served as a chimney. 

One day the MacLarens rode some little pon¬ 
ies out over the plain, going farther than they 
had intended. As evening came on, they grew 
cold and tired and were apparently lost. They 
spied a Mongol yurt and raced for it. Dogs 
barked, but the father, mother, three boys, and 
a daughter all came running out to quiet the 
dogs and to make the strangers welcome. 

Soon Peter and Nancy were enjoying a stew 



FROM PEIPING NORTH 


241 



Ewing Galloway 

MONGOL YURTS NEAR KALGAN 


of mutton and millet. They drank goat’s milk 
from a wooden bowl. Nothing was clean, but 
it was surprising how little cleanliness mat¬ 
tered, when one was cold and hungry. The smell 
of the fuel, the odor of the goats and lambs sleep¬ 
ing in one corner of the tent, and the steam 
from the food mingled. At one side of the tent 
stood a chest with a Buddhist picture propped 
upon it. There was one bed platform, four 
inches high, which belonged to the man and his 
oldest son. The rest slept on felt slips that were 
laid on the floor. By means of sign language 
the man explained to Uncle Lee that he sold 
leather, saddlery, and sheep. 

After the MacLarens had eaten and were 






242 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


warm, their host directed them back to Kal- 
gan by a short route. As she rode out between 
Peter and Uncle Lee on her sturdy little horse, 
Nancy took a deep breath. 

“I never was so glad to get into a place,” she 
declared, “and never so glad to get out of one.” 

In a few days Jimmy Dustin appeared with 
his plane and transported the MacLarens over 
the dusty brown road to Urga. Here they found 
a trade day festival. The streets were full of 
Chinese, Russians, and Mongols, and there was 
a constant clink of silver bridles. The numerous 
shops, jumbled together, seemed to be mostly 
Chinese. The ornate, well-built houses of the 
town were of Russian type. In many parts of 
the city the Mongols had set up their tents like 
permanent homes. The crowd seemed to gravi¬ 
tate toward one main building with a green 
domed roof, called the People’s House, where the 
representatives of the people met. In the great 
square outside stood prayer shacks to which red- 
robed Buddhist monks came frequently. Here 
were prayer wheels, and Peter could not resist 
giving several of them a few spins for himself. 

The MacLaren children were not surprised to 
see automobiles right along with the camel trains 
and horses, for, although there were no good 
roads, it was fairly easy riding over the plains. 

From Urga Jimmy carried the MacLarens to 
Irkutsk in less than a day, a trip that would have 
taken a great deal longer by camel train. Ir- 



FROM PEIPING NORTH 


243 



Ewing Galloway 

MONGOLIAN NATIVES OF IRKUTSK 

kutsk, Siberia, was located on the Trans-Siberian 
Railroad, the longest railroad in the world and a 
railroad of which Russia was justly proud. 

The MacLarens found a modern city with elec¬ 
tric lights, up-to-date schools, and a library. Al¬ 
though it lay in the mining region, rich in coal 
and gold, it had not as yet been able to find much 
of a market for its coal. Its fur trade, however, 
was splendid, and Nancy wished that she might 
wear such furs as she saw in Irkutsk: fox and 
sable and ermine. The ermine was like the snow, 
which made her think of a Minnesota Christmas. 





THE LAND OF MORNING CALM 


T HE MacLarens left Siberia with only a wish 
for a long flight that would have taken them 
southwest over Lake Aral to the low Ural Moun¬ 
tains and up to the Arctic Ocean where even the 
reindeer moss is buried in ice and snow. They 
would have liked to circle back over the tundra 
zone where for thousands of miles there was noth¬ 
ing to be seen but trees, although they knew that 
in this part of Siberia the fox, the wolf, the 
bear, and the long-haired tiger make their home. 
This land, rich in wheat and dairy production, 
in minerals, fur, and fishing, promised some day 
to become, so Uncle Lee prophesied, a fine mar¬ 
ket for American goods. 

Actually Jimmy and his party flew directly 
to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan, the eastern 
terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and 
from there to Fengtien, or Mukden. Here Jimmy 
left them, promising to meet them in Japan. 

Mukden, like Peiping, was enclosed by high, 
wide, brick walls. There were eight huge gates 
to the city; and along the winding streets, built 
crooked to cause the evil spirits to get lost, were 
many old brick houses. There were also many 
modern buildings, including up-to-date schools. 

Much like Peiping in some ways! But as¬ 
suredly the women were different. They looked 


244 


THE LAND OF MORNING CALM 


245 


taller and stronger than other Chinese women, 
walking with firm, proud clumping on their 
stiltlike shoes. They wore fur-lined, long, silk 
coats with silk pantaloons showing beneath. 
Nancy was alarmed by their pallor at first but 
soon learned that these ladies painted their faces 
white and tinted their cheeks and eyelids red. 
Their headdresses were gorgeous, the hair hav¬ 
ing been wound around thin plates of gold or sil¬ 
ver in such a way that they appeared to be wear¬ 
ing wings on their heads. Often there were 
jewels in the headdresses. Peter and Nancy 
found the streets fascinating, especially the long 
street devoted to bootmaking. Boots seemed to 
be an important part of every Mongolian costume. 

The MacLarens made many side trips, one by 
automobile to see one of the largest coal pockets 
in the world, at Fushun; another on a crowded 
train to visit some of the farms where soybeans 
were being raised. 

“Manchuria is now Manchukuo,” Uncle Lee 
declared as the train pulled out. “We must 
remember that since the Japanese have controlled 
the country, the name has been changed. This 
country has often been called the Land of the 
Bean. In fact, the culture of soybeans, a fine 
food for man and cattle alike, is one of the rea¬ 
sons for the vast number of Chinese and Japan¬ 
ese colonists pouring into Manchukuo. Much the 
same thing happened when Englishmen swarmed 
into Canada for wheat lands.” 



246 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Eiving Galloway 

SOYBEANS READY FOR SHIPMENT 

At every station sacks of soybeans were piled 
high. Uncle Lee said that there was a world¬ 
wide market for soybeans. The oil extracted 
from the beans was being used in butter sub¬ 
stitutes as well as in paints and lubricants, while 
the soybean cake, made after the oil was pressed 
out, was in demand as fodder or fertilizer. Dur¬ 
ing the shipping season it was said that Man- 
chukuon rivers were so crowded with bean boats 
that noisy traffic jams were not unusual. 

Uncle Lee explained that through Dairen, 
leased and governed by Japan, flowed the for¬ 
eign trade into Manchukuo. This bustling city 
boasted modern docks and railway and ware- 






THE LAND OF MORNING CALM 


247 


house facilities. Here was the ocean terminus 
of the Japanese-owned South Manchukuon Rail¬ 
way. The narrow zone across southern Man- 
chukuo, through which this railway ran, was 
policed by the Tokyo government, Uncle Lee said. 
The Japanese had invested more than a billion 
dollars here. 

From one of the busiest countries the Mac- 
Larens departed for what Uncle Lee called a 
“shrinking violet” country, Korea, called Chosen 
since Japan took over the government in 1910. 

“It’s the place where Nancy will want to buy 
many things,” he prophesied. “It’s been called 
the 'hermit nation’ because it has never encour¬ 
aged visitors. But it is certainly worth while.” 

The MacLarens entered Chosen through Che- 
mulpho, the chief port on the Han River. The 
port was crowded with ships. Uncle Lee said 
they left cotton and woolen goods, petroleum, and 
lumber in exchange for rice, beans, millet, wheat, 
and hides. 

Seoul, the capital, was some distance up the 
river, and it was this old city that the MacLarens 
longed to see. 

They made the trip by rail, on a crowded but 
comfortable train. The officials were educated, 
courteous Japanese. They told Uncle Lee that 
the capital city was famous for its silks, its 
paper, the tobacco it raised, and the fans and 
mats it manufactured. 

Later it seemed to Peter and Nancy that every 



248 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

KOREAN HOMES, ARTISTIC AND SIMPLE 


other truck load on the streets consisted of mat¬ 
ting. Matting was much in evidence on the 
floors of the homes the MacLarens visited. 

Seoul proved to be a picturesque city, set in a 
bowl-shaped valley among the hills. A wall still 
encircled the city. There were a few broad, 
straight streets running from gate to gate, but 
between these streets there were many narrow, 
winding ones. 

The MacLarens spent little time at dinner in 
the hotel where the highly seasoned, peppery food 
of the native Koreans was served. They strolled 













THE LAND OF MORNING CALM 


249 



Ewing Galloway 

KOREAN MERCHANTS OF THE OLDER GENERATION 

out on a broad thoroughfare that extended from 
the railway station to the ancient south gate. 

There were a great many modern banks and 
office buildings in the city. Uncle Lee said that 
once bonfire signals lit up the hills. Now the 
city was bright with electric lights, and not far 
from the marble pagoda, seven centuries old, a 



250 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


radio station raised its tower. The land of morn¬ 
ing calm had become a land of busy days. 

The women’s everyday clothes were not attrac¬ 
tive, just full, shapeless skirts and short Eton 
jackets. White was the color for common wear, 
but on festive occasions some of them wore gor¬ 
geous, colored silks with beautiful headdresses. 

The men on the streets invariably wore spot¬ 
less white bloomer-like trousers tied at the ankles, 
and a flowing white coat-like garment that came 
down over their knees. 

But it was the hats of some of the men which 
fascinated Peter and Nancy particularly. They 
were so unusual, and the children soon learned 
that each type had a special significance. Years 
ago no man in Korea could wear a hat unless he 
was married. No matter how old he was, his 
hair had to hang down his back in braids until he 
became engaged. Then he was permitted a top- 
knot, which he might cover with a hat of straw. 
But it was only when he was actually married 
that he could have a horsehair skullcap with a 
raised center upon which was perched a black 
topper of the same material or finely split bam¬ 
boo. This was tied under the chin. Still another 
hat seen was a very large hat of bright-colored 
straw. This signified that the wearer was mourn¬ 
ing the death of his father or mother. 

Many of the people on the streets and in the 
shops had adopted Western headgear, but there 
were those who clung to the old customs. 



THE LAND OF MORNING CALM 


251 



WOMEN WASHING AT A STREAM 

The white clothes, Uncle Lee told Peter and 
Nancy, were the same as they had been on his 
previous visit, and he explained that this was 
associated also with a mourning custom. White 
was the color for mourning in Korea, as it was 
in China. Years ago it was customary for all 
the Koreans to wear mourning clothes when a 
royal personage died, and for all members of an 
individual family to wear them when a near 
relative died. The people found it was more 
convenient to wear white all of the time. In 
view of this, it was not surprising to see women 
washing at every stream. 









252 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Clothes were not ironed, the children learned, 
but placed over rollers and beaten with a stick 
to give them a shiny, mercerized finish. Often 
garments were not sewed at all, but simply pasted 
together until wash day. 

During excursions into the country, Uncle Lee 
said that it did not appear as brown and sere as 
usual. The Japanese had started reforestation 
to conserve Chosen's rainfall. Uncle Lee quoted 
one Japanese official who had said, “Give life to 
the mountain first, and you will give life to the 
nation." 

Fuel was admittedly scarce. On the streets 
of Seoul the MacLarens saw men trundling loads 
of pine cones for quick-burning fuel and boys 
peddling small bundles of fagots and bunches of 
grass to be used in cooking. Often boys would be 
wearing a gigi, or frame, strapped on their shoul¬ 
ders. Loads were usually carried on these 
frames. 

Uncle Lee remarked that when he had visited 
Chosen years before, grassy grave mounds were 
seen everywhere. The Japanese have established 
graveyards, taxing those who would not remove 
the remains of their ancestors from the fields. 
One good effect of this ruling, aside from giving 
more land for cultivation, resulted in placing on 
the market fine pieces of celadon, a sea-green 
porcelain that had lain in the graves. Uncle Lee 
said that celadon was very rare, the secret of 
its making having been lost. 



THE LAND OF MORNING CALM 


253 



Ewing Galloway 

A KOREAN BOY WITH A GIGI 

There were a good many other changes of even 
greater significance which had been effected by 
the Japanese rule. A great deal had been done to 
improve general conditions among the Koreans. 
Hospitals had been built, schools established and 






254 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


modern methods of sanitation introduced. The 
economic life of the country had also been stimu¬ 
lated in many ways, including the improvement 
of harbors and the building of railroads and other 
systems of communication. All in all, Uncle Lee 
was impressed with the rapid strides being made 
in this quiet little country, and Peter and Nancy 
decided that the Koreans were receiving returns 
for the loss of their freedom. 



WINGS, MOUNTAINS, AND FLOWERS 


“AND now for our nearest neighbor in the 
jTjl East,” observed Uncle Lee as the MacLarens 
packed their luggage in preparation for the next 
part of the trip. 

“Japan,” supplied Peter as he fastened the 
last strap, then added, “You know I’m tired of 
seeing Fujiyama on everything from post cards 
to fans, and I’m not particularly interested in the 
fact that she’s 12,395 feet high. I’ve seen them 
higher. What I want to find out is why every¬ 
body raves about her.” 

“You’d think Fujiyama was a girl,” Nancy 
put in. 

“Well, she is feminine,” Uncle Lee declared. 
“She makes me think of a regal young queen 
wrapped in ermine.” 

Just as the MacLarens were packed for their 
sea voyage to the famous port of Nagasaki, 
Jimmy Dustin came storming in. 

“At your service,” he said, bowing low. “Ar¬ 
rangements have been made for a plane trip to 
the Land of the Rising Sun. What do you say?” 
looking inquiringly at Uncle Lee. 

“It’s a fine idea,” answered Uncle Lee, and 
that is how Peter and Nancy happened to be see¬ 
ing Japan first from the air. 

Japan, so Uncle Lee said, was the youngest 

255 


256 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


country in all Asia and was probably formed 
by a volcanic eruption long after China had built 
up her civilization. Although Japan was made 
up of four large islands and about 4,000 smaller 
ones, the MacLarens were most interested in 
Honshu, the one they had always thought of as 
Japan proper. 

“Once Japan was a hermit nation,” Uncle Lee 
told them. “In 1853 Commodore Perry visited 
Japan with several battleships and established 
trade relations for us. Since then we haven’t 
had to worry about our supply of silk, for when 
the Japanese discovered that there was a world 
market for silk, they began to study modern 
methods of speeding production.” 

Jimmy’s plane sailed out over a Japanese ship 
carrying the national ensign, the rising sun with 
sixteen radiating rays, red on a white field. The 
water was calm and very blue, and Uncle Lee 
remarked that the tides on the Pacific side and 
on the Sea of Japan were light, averaging 
scarcely two feet, one of the lowest records in 
the world. He mentioned the great Japan Cur¬ 
rent, a branch of the equatorial current of the 
Pacific, similar in many ways to the Gulf Stream, 
and flowing along the east coast. Peter and 
Nancy knew that in spite of the peaceful scene 
the Japanese were used to typhoons nearly every 
autumn and that tidal waves, earthquakes, and 
volcanic eruptions threatened them constantly. 

From the air Peter and Nancy realized more 



WINGS, MOUNTAINS, AND FLOWERS 


257 


than ever that Japan was a country of moun¬ 
tains. Uncle Lee had said that there were at 
least a hundred peaks, each rising more than 
8,000 feet above sea level. But looking down, 
the country seemed to be all mountains. There 
was scarcely any level land to be seen. Even the 
wooded and cultivated mountains looked more like 
terraced gardens than forests and fields. Always 
in view was the beautiful Fuji, translated from 
Japanese as No Two Such. Uncle Lee said the 
discovery that Mount Morrison in Formosa was 
taller than Fuji had troubled the Japanese at 
first. Then they had solved the problem of a 
name by calling it the New High Mountain. 

The Japanese mountains were not so barren 
as many of the Chinese mountains. For a popu¬ 
lous country, Uncle Lee said that Japan had 
more forests than many others. A wise Japan¬ 
ese rule, enforced by custom, required that when 
one tree was felled, two must be planted. 

In most of the valleys yellowing rice was being 
harvested, and on the roads were many natives 
going on pilgrimages to various shrines. It did 
not seem possible that before the time of modern 
communication many whole villages had starved 
to death, but Uncle Lee pointed out one ashen 
mound overgrown with bamboo where an entire 
starving population had been cremated. He said 
there was a move on foot to do away with the 
drinking of sake, or rice beer, which would mean 
the saving of 1,000,000 bushels of rice a year. 



258 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


The rivers, the children noticed from the air, 
were very swift as they flowed down the moun¬ 
tainsides. Such rivers were both a danger and 
a blessing; a danger when they flooded the care¬ 
fully planted fields, a blessing when they supplied 
electrical power to the cities. Japan, Jimmy 
maintained, had few rivals when it came to 
electrical power. 

“How about lakes ?” Peter inquired. “That 
looks like one down there.” 

Jimmy pointed out Biwa, the queen lake of 
them all, with feudal castles and landscape 
gardens of rare beauty overlooking its banks. 

Jimmy flew over Beppu next, a seaside resort 
where bathers lay on the hot lava sands. There 
were many such resorts, Jimmy declared, where 
people went for the hot sulphur-water cure. 

Much of the country showed deep gorges with 
railways twisting along narrow ledges and cross¬ 
ing narrow bridges. Little villages and little 
fields! Great cities that, as dusk came on, 
sparkled with myriads of lights! The little 
black-haired, short, active people were not unlike 
their island. Uncle Lee said that there had been 
in Japan originally several races, but now all 
were blended into one with definite ambitions for 
the future of their country. 

Jimmy's plane was not the only one in the air. 
Jimmy said that it was no idle boast that Japan¬ 
ese planes regularly covered 1,000,000 miles of 
commercial airways. Although the railroads 



WINGS , MOUNTAINS, AND FLOWERS 


259 



Ewing Galloway 

FARM GIRLS WITH A GIGI LOAD OF DRIED GRASS 

were the pride of Japan, the airways were a close 
second. 

The party landed out in a country district, 
and Uncle Lee agreed with Jimmy that it would 
be well to pass the night at an inn near by. 

As the MacLaren party walked up to the or¬ 
nate gateway, the silk-clad old innkeeper came 
out to meet them and to bow them in. At the 
same moment a half-dozen nesans, or maids, in 
bright kimonos ran and knelt on either side of 
the doorway. Undoubtedly their words were ex¬ 
pressions of welcome. The party passed through 




260 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 


A JAPANESE INN 


a small garden which contained a pool, some 
stone lanterns, and a few stunted pine trees. 

At the door of the inn one of the little maids 
knelt down to remove Nancy’s oxfords and to 
slip her feet into a pair of embroidered heelless 
slippers. Peter unlaced his own shoes, as did 
Uncle Lee. They grinned at each other as a 
maid, giggling, looked at Jimmy’s footgear. She 
watched him, admiration in her gaze, as he un¬ 
did his high, laced boots. She selected for him 
the brightest slippers she could find. Then the 
party shuffled down the corridor. 
















WINGS, MOUNTAINS, AND FLOWERS 


261 


“Go ahead, Nancy,” Uncle Lee called out. 
“Your nesan will show you your room.” 

Nancy was delighted. The inn, like a Japan¬ 
ese home, was finished in natural wood. The 
walls were made of wide, sliding paper panels. 
There were rice mats on the floor. At one side 
stood a low table and near it a hibachi, or little 
charcoal stove. But no bed! A scroll hung in a 
niche. In a simple vase there was a lovely spray 
of tiny chrysanthemums that somehow made 
Nancy think of a fairy glen with slanting beams 
of sunlight. The little maids disappeared and 
brought tea. Nancy sat down on one of the 
bright cushions and sipped a little of the tea from 
a tiny eggshell china cup. 

The maid helped Nancy bathe in a basin of 
warm water. The men were bathing, too, she 
explained, and would follow their preliminary 
bath by getting into a big sunken tank of hot 
water. 

Nancy, much refreshed, accepted the loan of 
a lovely flowered kimono with a brocaded sash 
to wear for dinner. She even attempted to put 
a few jeweled pins in her hair. 

Uncle Lee, Peter, and Jimmy wore native 
dress to dinner, too, but with not quite so much 
ease as did Nancy. They all sat on cushions 
around a low serving table in a big room where 
there were also other guests. The tea was very 
fragrant, and Jimmy said that it had been mixed 
with dried jasmine flowers. 



262 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Soon after dinner Nancy retired to her room, 
to which the maid brought a futon , or thin mat¬ 
tress, and a wooden pillow. After she had 
departed, Nancy exchanged the wooden pillow 
for a cushion. 

Uncle Lee and Peter stayed up until the 
wooden shutters of the inn closed for the night. 
Peter laughed when Uncle Lee insisted on six 
mattresses for his bed. One would have been 
enough for the average Japanese. 

In the morning the party washed in brass 
basins, ate a breakfast of rice and an omelet, and 
departed after paying the bill, with much cere¬ 
monious bowing. 

Kobe, the port of Osaka, they found was an 
important manufacturing city. They saw a Jap¬ 
anese lumberyard filled with great bundles of 
bamboo. Bamboo was used in making furniture, 
water pipes, paper, toys, mats, musical instru¬ 
ments, cooking utensils, and many other things. 

Uncle Lee’s party was invited to have tea at 
the home of a business acquaintance. The guests 
were received in the garden, a lovely garden with 
a fountain and a pool across which a dainty 
bridge curved. Nancy said the lotus flowers in 
the pool were lovely, but the goldfish made her a 
little homesick. 

Uncle Lee had partly prepared Peter and 
Nancy for the tea ceremony. He had explained 
that to the Japanese tea is not simply a drink. 
In the old days among Buddhist monks it was 



WINGS, MOUNTAINS, AND FLOWERS 263 



Ewing Galloway 

A JAPANESE LUMBERYARD 


a sacrament. In modern times, while tea-drink¬ 
ing has no such quaint religious significance, it 
does entail a certain etiquette. 

When the entire party was seated before a low 
lacquer table facing their host and hostess, a 
servant brought in a fruit paste wrapped as 
colored bits of sweet. The sweet was preliminary 
to the tea. 

The hostess, in a somber but beautiful kimono, 
with an obi , or sash, of gold brocade, her hair 
elaborately coiffured, took up the wooden dipper, 
lifting the pure water in it. The very finest tea 



264 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

PREPARING AND SERVING TEA 


had been selected and crushed into a green 
powder. The hostess mixed it in a rare Satsuma 
bowl, using a bamboo whisk. Into each cup went 
a portion, and a maid took it to each guest in 
turn, serving it with a low bow. 

The tea had been grown in Shizuoka on soil 
blessed by the gods. All soil on which tea was 
grown was blessed by the gods! Drinking the tea, 
so the gracious hostess declared, would give her 
guests long life so that they might continue their 
travels for many years. They would also receive 
another more precious gift, a spark of divinity, 
so that they might understand and appreciate 
what they saw. 






THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN 


J IMMY landed the MacLarens in Yokohama, 
rebuilt since the earthquake of 1923. Uncle 
Lee told Peter and Nancy something of the great 
disaster, when many thousands of the city’s in¬ 
habitants had been killed and about eighty per 
cent of the buildings destroyed. The children 
were proud to learn that the United States led 
the list of nations which had contributed money, 
food, and clothing for the relief of the homeless. 

The MacLarens spent the day touring the city. 
To their astonishment Peter and Nancy saw only 
a few jinrikishas, and these were pulled by old 
men. Everywhere were taxis, driven by young 
Japanese, two to a car. The young men charged 
fares that made even generous Uncle Lee grum¬ 
ble. There were numerous bicycles, countless 
motor trucks, and a great many automobiles. The 
sight of lovely Fujiyama in the distance made the 
children forget everything else. It seemed beau¬ 
tiful, not dangerous, even though its volcanic 
crater was perfectly evident. 

Uncle Lee said, “Japan has some two hundred 
dormant volcanoes, and at least fifty of them are 
capable of suddenly becoming unruly. Earth¬ 
quakes are not uncommon and cyclonic winds 
are frequent. Even the rivers, because of their 
mountainous origin, are short and rapid.” 

265 


266 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



MANY YOKOHAMA STREETS ARE WESTERN STYLE 

Peter and Nancy were impressed with the large 
new harbor, for they learned that the earthquake 
had destroyed almost all of the wharves. These 
had been completely replaced, and there were 
ships of many countries being loaded with silk, 
manufactured goods, and tea. 

Uncle Lee said that Yokohama had been the 
first port opened after Commodore Perry’s visit, 
which resulted in establishing trade relations be¬ 
tween Japan and the rest of the world in the 
middle of the nineteenth century. The city had 
been definitely Western in style even before the 




THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN 


267 


rebuilding. The new city was even more so, with 
wide streets and modern glass-fronted stores. 
Many of the people wore European clothes. 

The main retail shopping street, Benten Dori, 
was very attractive, and Nancy exclaimed over 
the beautiful silks, embroidered kimonos, delicate 
carvings, and bright lacquer work on display. 

Peter and Nancy found the Japanese every¬ 
where quick in movement, courteous in manner, 
and living gaily in the present. 

The trip to the base of the most famous moun¬ 
tain in Japan was made in a sleeping car. It 
was not restful, for the MacLarens were not 
used to sleeping between mattresses. 

Fuji, as the Japanese themselves called her, 
stood in solitary grandeur. There weren’t even 
foothills about her base. 

“She is a queen, I believe,” Nancy declared. 
“Her snow-white skirts are spread as evenly 
about her as though she had whirled and whirled. 
And how she glitters in the winter sun!” 

Peter interrupted by saying, “I wish we could 
climb her. Lots of people do. There are rest 
houses all along the way—well, maybe not all 
along the way, but some places. I’d like to see 
the crater and get lava dust in my shoes.” 

In the valleys the MacLarens stared down at 
yellow rice fields, with bean fields upon the ter¬ 
raced sides of the hills above the rice. A laborer 
in a conical straw hat and a blue coat, followed 
by a couple of storks, moved slowly and care- 



268 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 



Ewing Galloway 

MT. FUJIYAMA 


fully, gathering his crop. The big birds picked 
up what he dropped. 

It was evening when the MacLarens arrived 
at Nikko in the mountains. This little village 
had but a single street. Yellow lights shone 
dimly through paper windows, and figures pass¬ 
ing to and fro reminded Peter and Nancy of a 
shadow show. The little shops were humble, as 
was the rest house where they slept, the bed¬ 
rooms being separated by hastily arranged parti¬ 
tions. 

The famous Red Lacquer Bridge across the 
chasm of the whirling river fascinated the chil- 





THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN 


269 



Ewing Galloway 

THE FAMOUS RED LACQUER BRIDGE 


dren. In the morning light it looked very lovely. 
It was finished with red lacquer and gold, with 
ornaments of chiseled brass. The bridge was used 
only by the Emperor and the priests. 

It was dedicated like the temple near by, so 
the MacLarens learned, to Saint Shodo. The 
saint, accompanied by four miraculous clouds 
while looking for a place to build a temple, had 
knelt down by the raging Daiyagawa and prayed. 
The colossal being flung a pair of snakes, one red 
and one blue, across the canyon. The snakes 
obligingly intertwined to form a bridge on which 
the saint crossed. He then founded the Monastery 
of the Four Dragons. The bridge Peter and 





270 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


Nancy so greatly admired had been built in com¬ 
memoration of the first bridge. 

There were several temples in the woods near 
by. To come upon a marvelous temple, built 
of red with gold filigree, the gates guarded by 
monsters with blue and green manes, seemed 
almost magical. The carved lacquered wood 
often looked as though it were jeweled. Every¬ 
where appeared the legendary dragon. 

In a little shop in Nikko, Peter and Nancy 
bought as souvenirs, replicas in ivory of the 
three Nikko monkeys, their paws expressive of 
the advice, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no 
evil.” 

The Tokyo express landed the MacLarens in 
another city courageously rebuilt after the earth¬ 
quake of 1923. Uncle Lee said that Tokyo and 
Yokohama, the first port of call for ships from 
the Western Hemisphere, had responded the 
most quickly of all Japanese cities to Western 
influence. The new Marunouchi district in 
Tokyo, with its central railway station in the 
heart of the capital, has wide boulevards and 
parks. Here are the home offices of a great 
steamship line and a marine insurance firm. 

The gate of the Imperial Palace with its en¬ 
trance had been enlarged and beautified, and 
Uncle Lee said the modern building of the Im¬ 
perial Diet, or parliament, was one of the most 
impressive in Japan. This three-story building 
with a 216-foot tower had been faced with pink 



THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN 


271 



Ewing Galloway 

THE KABUKI THEATER IN TOKYO 


and white granite taken from native quarries. 

The children attended the Kabuki Theater to 
see a native play and the Imperial Theater to 
see an American film. At the Kaikan Restau¬ 
rant, which specialized in foreign dishes, they 
ate a French dinner. 

“Quite a change from rice, fish, pickled white 
radishes, and tea!” Peter declared. “I was just 
getting used to that menu as a steady diet, too.” 

The MacLarens were invited into a lovely 
Japanese home, a light, beautiful house with a 
garden that looked like an old Japanese print. 





272 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


There were rustic bridges, a profusion of little 
flowers, late chrysanthemums, and colored maples 
rising against the blue sky. Uncle Lee said that 
the Japanese had studied landscape gardening 
for 1,500 years and that in a Japanese garden 
every tree, bush, stone, or little pool was care¬ 
fully planned. The most unpretentious home had 
its garden. 

On the first rainy day in Tokyo Nancy looked 
down from a window in an office building where 
she and Peter were calling with Uncle Lee. She 
saw what appeared to be a lot of big flat flowers 
bobbing about. They were the broad, gaily- 
colored paper umbrellas carried by the Japanese 
women. Among these red, blue, apple green, and 
lavender umbrellas were many black alpaca um¬ 
brellas carried by school girls. 

The department stores delighted Peter as well 
as Nancy. The most famous shopping street, 
the Ginza , had been completely destroyed by fire 
and earthquake, and the new street was not 
as handsome as the old. Nancy learned that no 
Paris dressmaker set styles in Japan. The cut 
of the dress did not change from year to year, 
but the cut of the obi did. No matter how elabor¬ 
ate or expensive this sash might be, it could be 
worn only one season. 

The style of clothes depended on one’s age 
and sex. Nancy found that little boys were 
dressed in sober colors while little girls wore gay 
flowered kimonos. As the girls grew up, they 



THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN 


273 



Ewing Galloway 

AN UPPER CLASS JAPANESE WOMAN 
WITH HER LITTLE GIRL 

wore more subdued colors, lovely in tint and 
always set off by heavy brocaded silk. 

In all the department stores and on the streets, 
the MacLarens were aware of one sound that 
was purely Oriental. It was the sound of thou¬ 
sands of getas , or wooden clogs, on marble floors 
and paved sidewalks. Peter and Nancy always 
afterward remembered the sounds of the getas 
whenever they thought of the Ginza. Nancy 
long remembered the shimmering silks, the gor¬ 
geous kimonos embroidered from top to bottom 






274 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


with sprays of wisteria and hydrangea, and the 
bunched obis with white and gold chrysanthe¬ 
mums. Blue-black hair, freshly oiled and shin¬ 
ing like patent leather, and decorated with glit¬ 
tering combs and pins — this was the coiffure 
so often seen in the theaters and restaurants. 

The MacLarens entered the old gate of red 
lacquer of the Imperial University before they 
left Tokyo. Here 8,000 students were receiving 
as fine an education as could be had anywhere 
in arts and athletics. Education seemed to be 
general in Japan. While nearly every home had 
its shrine for ancestor worship, the Christian 
religion was also winning converts. 

Had the MacLarens visited Japan in April, 
they would have seen the cherry trees in bloom. 
However, the chrysanthemums proved quite as 
lovely. 

“We can see Japanese cherry trees in Wash¬ 
ington, D. C.,” Peter consoled himself. “It was 
the mayor of Tokyo and his council that gave us 
the trees in 1912. So East met West.” 

“Yes, the twain did meet,” Nancy spoke up. 

“I believe you're right, youngsters,” Uncle Lee 
agreed. “The ideas and ideals of the East and 
West have met, and I like to think that meeting 
will result in greater happiness and prosperity 
for both the East and the West.” 



FAREWELL TO ASIA 


T HERE were evergreen trimmings on the 
masts of ships in the harbor. There was 
holly over the doorways, not only of shops but of 
little paper houses. In department stores Jap¬ 
anese Santas displayed ingenious toys. 

In many shops were gorgeous illuminated 
Christmas trees. Streaming across windows 
were signs in Japanese announcing gift sales. 
Counters overflowed. 

As Peter and Nancy walked along with Uncle 
Lee among crowds of eager shoppers, they could 
hardly believe their eyes or trust their senses. 
Colored paper lanterns they might expect! Paper 
cherry blossoms they might expect! Sales of 
silks and cloisonne boxes they might expect! But 
evergreens and holly and Christmas trees! It 
was almost too good to be true. 

“Less than 1,000,000 Christians in Japan,” 
Uncle Lee remarked. “But the Nipponese like 
our Christmas. They feel they can accept it 
without accepting our religion.” 

“It’s the nicest thing that has happened in all 
our Asiatic travels,” Peter declared. “Look at 
that Tokyo Santa Claus! He should be bigger 
and fatter. You’d make a good Santa Claus, 
Uncle Lee, if you were padded out and wore a 
beard.” 


275 


276 


PETER AND NANCY IN ASIA 


‘Til be a Santa Claus to you,” Uncle Lee 
promised. ‘Til treat you to the best dish in 
Japan, sukayaki. Hungry?” 

“We’re always hungry.” Peter declared. 

The restaurant was like a shrine with its 
flowers and bridges and pools. The MacLarens 
sat on a mat in their stocking feet and watched 
the food being cooked over a slow, charcoal fire. 
The Japanese cook made the dish with a great 
deal of care. She cut beef and chicken into thin 
squares and slices. She added tender cabbage, 
bamboo shoots, mushrooms, Japanese onions and 
herbs, and cooked them all together with soya 
sauce and just a little sugar. Then with a smile 
and a bow the sukayaki was served by a neat 
little Japanese maid with a bowl of the fluffiest 
white rice the children had ever seen. It was 
all delicious. 

“Almost as good as turkey,” Peter pronounced. 

“With cranberry sauce,” Nancy amended. 

Back in the hotel they found Jimmy Dustin. 
Uncle Lee’s eyes shone as he greeted the flyer. 

“What news, Jimmy?” he asked. “Did you 
get the tickets?” 

“Yes,” Jimmy replied. “Yes, sir. I did.” 

“What tickets?” Peter inquired. 

“Tickets for home,” Jimmy answered as calmly 
as he could. 

For a moment neither Peter nor Nancy could 
speak for joy. Then they began shouting ques¬ 
tions, both at the same time. 



FAREWELL TO ASIA 


277 



Ewing Galloway 

FAREWELL TO JAPAN 

“What boat do we take?” “When do we sail?” 
“When do we arrive in the United States?” 
“When do we get home?” 

“Just one question at a time!” Uncle Lee finally 
managed to put in. “I was under the impression 
that you two liked Asia.” 

“It has been a wonderful year from Christmas 
to Christmas,” Peter admitted. “A year to see 
Asia isn’t too long a time.” 

“We’ll have to return some time,” Nancy de¬ 
clared. “Asia makes me feel that as I grow older 
I should grow wiser. But all I can think of right 
now is home and Christmas. Somehow they do 
belong together.” 










PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


KEY: a as ate; a as senate; & as add; a as arm; 4 as care; a as ask; 
e as eve; £ as Svent; 6 as gnd; e as maker; I as Ice; I as Ill; o as old; 6 as 
6bey; 6 as for; 6 as bdd; do as food; do as foot; ou as out; oi as oil; ow as 
cow; u as cube; u as finite; as ftir; ii as tip; ng as sing; zh as z in azure; 
n as a nasal ng. 


Aden (a'd8n) 

Aegean (e-je'&n) 
Afghanistan (&f-g&n'I-st&n) 
Africa (&f'ri-ka) 

Agra (a'gra) 

Allah (Sl'A) 

Amazon (&m'a-z6n) 

Amoy (a-moi') 

Angora (Ung-go'ra) 

Ankara (ang'ka-ra) 

Annam (3,-nSm') 

Anotolian (&n'a-t5'll-an) 
Aqaba (a'ka-ba) 

Arabia (&-ra'bI-a) 

Aral (ar'al) 

Arctic (ark'tik) 

Asia (a'zha) 

Asia Minor (a'zh& mi'ner) 
Assam (as's&m') 

Australia (os-tral'ya) 

Babylon (b&b'l-lon) 

Badro Dos (ba'dro dos) 
Bagdad (bag'dad) 
baklawis (ba-kla'wls) 
Balkans (bol'k&nz) 

Bangkok (b&ng'kdk') 
Barada (ba-ra'da) 

Bedouin (bSd'db-In) 
Beersheba (be'er-she'ba) 
Benares (b£-na'r8z) 

Bengal (bSn-gol') 

Benten Dori (bgn'tgn do're) 
Beppu (bSp'poo) 

Bethlehem (b6th'le-Sm) 
Beyrouth (ba'root) 


Bhutan (boo-tan') 

Biwa (be'wa) 

Boaz (bo'&z) 

Bod (b5d) 

Bombay (bdm-ba') 

Borneo (bor'ne-o) 

Bosporus (b5s'po-rus) 

Brahma (bra'ma) 

Brahmaputra (bra'ma-poo'tra) 
Buddha (bood'a) 

Bund (bund) 

Burgundy (bdr'gun-dl) 

Burma (bhr'ma) 

Bushire (boo-sher') 

cabob (ka-b6b') 

Caesarea (sgs'a-re'a) 
caique (ka-ek') 

Calcutta (k&l-kut'a) 

Cambodia (k&m-bo'dl-a) 

Canton (k&n'tdn) 

Carmel, Mount (kar'mgl) 

Carrara (kar-ra'ra) 

Cashmere (k&sh'mer) 

Caspian (k&s'pI-Sn) 

Ceylon (se-ldn') 
chela (cha'la) 

Chemulpho (chS'mbol-po) 

Chien Men (chygn mSn) 

Ch’in Shih Huang Ti (chin she 
hwang te) 

China (chl'n4) 

Cholon (shd'loN') 
chorten (chor'tSn) 

Chosen (cho'sgn') 
cloisonne (kloi'zd-na') 


280 


PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


281 


Cochin China (kd'chin chl'na) 
Colombo (k6-l6m'bo) 

Confucius (kSn-fu'shl-iis) 
Constantinople (kSn'st&n-tl-no'- 
p’D 

Dacca (d&k'a) 

Dagoba (da'g6-ba) 

Dairen (dl'rSn') 

Daiyagawa (di'ya-ga'wa) 

Dal (dal) 

Dalai Lama (da-ll' la'ma) 
Damascus (da-m&s'kiis) 
Dardanelles (dar'da-nSlz') 
Darjeeling (dar-je'ling) 

Delhi (dSl'hl) 

Demavend, Mount (dSm'a-v6nd') 
dhow (dou) 

Dothan (do'th&n) 

Eden (e'd’n) 

Egypt (e'jipt) 
el-Hazne (Sl-h&z'ne) 

Ethiopia (e'thi-o'pi-a) 

Euphrates (u-fra'tez) 

Europe (u'rtip) 

Everest, Mt., (Sv'er-Sst) 

Fengtien (fiing'tyun') 

Foochow (foo'chou') 

Formosa (for-mo'sa) 

Franciscan (fr&n-sis'k&n) 
Fujiyama (foo'jS-ya'ma) 

Fushun (foo'shwun') 
futon (foo'ton') 

Galata (ga'la-ta) 

Galilee (g&l'I-le) 

Ganges (g&n'jez) 

Garuda (gur'do-da) 

Georgetown (jorj'toun) 
geta (g£'t&) 

Gethsemane (gSth-s£m'a-n6) 
gharries (g&r'ez) 

Ghats (gots) 

Gibraltar (jl-br61'ter) 
gigi (gg'ge') 


Ginza (gln'za') 

Gobi (go'be) 
gompa (go'mpa') 

Haifa (hl'fci) 
hamm (ham) 

Han (han) 

Hangchow (h&ng'chou') 
Hankow (han'ko') 

Hanoi (ha'noi') 

Hanuman (hun'oo-man') 
Hebron (he'brSn) 

Hejaz (hS-jaz') 

Herat (h8r-at') 
hibachi (hi'ba'chl') 
Himalayas (hl-ma'la-yas) 
Hindu Kush (hln'doo koosh') 
Hindustan (hin'doo-stan') 
Honan (ho'nan') 

Hong Kong (h6ng' kbng') 
Honshu (hSn'shoo) 

Hooghly (hoog'l!) 
howdah (hou'da) 

Hue (ii'a') 

Hwang Ho (hwang' ho') 
Hyderabad (hi'der-a-bad') 

India (in'di-a) 

Indo-China (in'do-chi'na) 
Indus (in'diis) 

Iraq (S'rak') 

Irkutsk (6r-kdotsk') 
Irrawaddy 0fr'a-w6d'I) 
Ishmaelite (!sh'ma-6l-it) 
Islamkala (Is'lam-ka'la) 
Istanbul (e'stan-bool') 

Jaffa (ya'fa) 

Japan (ja-p&n') 

Jasmine (j&s'min) 

Java (ja'va) 

Jericho (jSr'I-ko) 

Jerusalem (je-rob'sa-l6m) 
Jhelum (ja'lhm) 

Jidda (jld'da) 
jinrikisha (jln-rlk'sha) 

Jordan (jor'd&n) 





282 


PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


Judea (joo-de'a) 

Jumna (jtun'n&) 

Kaaba (ka/ba) 

Kabuki (ka'bd-ke') 

Kabul (ka'bdol) 

Kaikan (ki'kan') 

Kale jii (ka'la' jl'e') 

Kale pheb (ka'la' p’Sb) 

Kalgan (kal'gan') 

Kandahar (kun'da-har') 

Kandy (kan'd6) 

Ivartub (kar'tub') 

Kashmir (k&sh'mer') 

Khyber (ki'ber) 
kiosk (ke-6sk') 

Kling (kling) 

Kobe (ko'bg) 

Koran (k6-ran') 

Korea (k6-re'a) 

Kublai Khan (koo'bli kan') 

Ladakh (la-dak') 

Lahej (la-h6j') 

Lebanon (I6b'a-n6n) 

Leh (la) 

Lhasa (las'a) 

Ma'an (ma-an') 

Macao (ma-ka'6) 

Madras (ma-dras') 

Magi (ma'ji) 

Malacca (ma-lSk'a) 

Malay Archipelago (ma-la' 
ar'kI-p6l'a-go) 

Maltese (mol'tez') 

Manchukuo (man'jo'kwo') 
Manchuria (man-chbor'I-a) 
Mandalay (mi£n'da-la) 

Mannar (m&-nar') 

Martaban (mar'ta-ban') 
Marunouchi (ma'rti-nou'chl) 
Mecca (m€k'a) 

Medina (ma-de'na) 

Mediterranean (m6d'I-t6-ra'n6-a,n) 
Meg kar (mSg kar) 

Mekong (ma'kfing') 


Menam (ma-nam') 

Merino (m6-re'no) 

Mesopotamia (m6s'6-p6-ta'ml-a) 
Moab (mo'ab) 

Mocha (mo'ka) 

Mogok (mo-g6k') 

Mogul (m6-gul') 

Mohammedan (m6-Mm'6-d&n) 
Mongolia (mdng-go'll-a) 

Moriah (mo-ri'a) 

Mosul (mo'sool') 
muezzin (mu-Sz^n) 

Mukden (mobk'dgn') 

Muscat (mus-k&t') 

Mustafa Kemal (moos'ta-fa k6- 
mal') 

Nablus (na-bloos') 

Nagasaki (na'ga-sa'kd) 

Nanking (n&n'klng') 

Nankow (nan'kou') 

Nazareth (n&z'a-rSth) 

Nepal (nS-pol') 
nesan (na'san') 

New Guinea (nu gin'!) 

Nikko (nylk'ko) 

Nineveh (nln'S-vS) 

Nipponese (nlp'6-nez') 

Nizam (n!-zam') 
nomad (nd'm&d) 

Nouveau Port (noo'vo' port') 

obi (olal) 

Om mani padne om (om ma'ne' 
pad'na' om) 

Oman (6-man') 

Omar Khayyam (o'mar ki-yam') 
Osaka (o'za'ka) 

paar (par) 

Palestine (p&l'Ss-tin) 

Palk (pok) 

Parsi (par'se) 

Peiping (ba'plng') 

Penang (p6-n&ng') 
pension (paN'syoN') 

Persia (phr'zha) 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


283 


Peshawar (pS-sha'war) 

Petra (pe'tra) 
philing (p’e'ling') 

Philippine (fll'i-pen) 
pilau (pi-lo') 

Pnom-Penh (p’nSm' pgn'y’) 
Polo, Marco (po'lo) 

Pontius Pilate (pbn'shiis pl'lat) 
Portuguese (por'tft-gez) 

Potala (po'ta'la') 

Praetorium (pr6-to'ri-iim) 
Prajadhipok (pra-y a-d’ he'pok) 
Punaka (pdo-niik'a) 

Raffles, Sir Stamford (r&r’lz) 
raki (ra'ke') 

Rangoon (r&ng-godn') 

Rephaim (rSf'a-im) 

Saigon (sl-gon') 
sake (sa'kg) 

Salween (s&l'wen') 
sampan (s&m'p&n) 

Saracen (s&r'a-s€n) 
sarda (sar'da) 
sarong (sa-rong') 

Satsuma (sa'tsdo-ma) 

Seoul (sS-ool') 
sesame (sSs'a-me) 

Shah Jahan (sha jahan') 
Shalimar (sha'li-mar) 

Shanghai (sh&ng'hi') 
sheik (shek) 

Shen Nung (sh6n noong) 
Shizuoka (she'zdo-o'ka) 

Shodo (sho'do') 

Siam (sl-&m') 

Siberia (si-ber'i-a) 

Sikh (sek) 

Silwan (sfl'wan) 

Simla (sim'la) 

Sind (sind) 

Singapore (slng'ga-por') 

Siq (sek) 

Siva (se'va) 

Smyrna (smtir'na) 


Somaliland (s6-ma'l6-l§nd') 
Songka (sSng'ka') 

Srinagar (srS-nhg'ar) 
sukayaki (sil-ke-ya'ke) 

Sumatra (sdo-ma'tra) 

Swatow (swa'tou') 

Syria (sir'I-a) 

Tabriz (ta-brez') 

Taj Mahal (taj ma-hal') 
tarboosh (tar-bdosh') 

Tartar (tar'ter) 

Teheran (tg-h’ran') 
thumo reskiang (t’u'mo' ra'ske'- 
ang') 

Tibet (ti-b8t') 

Tientsin (tin'tsin') 

Tigris (ti'gris) 

Tokyo (to'kyo) 

Tonkin (tdn'kin') 
tsamba (tsam'ba) 

Turkestan (ttir'kg-st&n') 

Turkey (tdr'ki) 

Ural (u'r&l) 

Urga (oor'ga) 

Venice (vfin'Is) 

Via Dolorosa (vi'a d6l'6-r6'sa) 
Victoria (vlk-to'rl-a) 

Vishnu (vish'ndo) 

Vladivostok (vla'dl-vSs-tok') 

Wat Benjamabopitr (wat ba-nya- 
ma-bo'pe-t’r) 

Wat Phra Keo (wat p’ra ka'o) 
Whangpoo (hwang'pdo') 
Wickham, Sir Francis (wik'&m) 

Yangtze (yang'tsg') 

Yeman (ygm'en) 

Yokohama (yo'ko-ha'ma) 

Yunnan (ydon'nan') 
yurt (yoort) 

Zoroaster (zo'ro-&s'ter) 

































































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